We're All We've Got
by LegendsOfOnyx
Summary: After an incident with two former teammates, one of which being her leader, Violet is transferred to Fireteam Indigo. Here, she makes new friends, and with time they'll learn how to be a family. Not just a team. But when Rebel attacks turn into something far worse, they'll have to rely on each other more than usual. Every journey has its struggle, this is theirs.
1. Chapter 1: Introducing Violet

**A/N: This is an idea that came to me yesterday, so I've had all of yesterday to write some chapters and check them too (of course I'll re-check them before uploads). I'm new to the whole writing thing, and have no idea how this'll do but so far I'm quite pleased with it. It's set in the Halo Universe with characters from The Walking Dead The Final Season. It's set before the events of Halo Reach, but I'm not one hundred percent sure on wether they'll be present for the attack. If not, then the attack will certainly be mentioned. This will be AU and a Clementine x Violet fic. It may take some time getting there as I want to make it feel as natural as possible and not force it upon you. Reviews are greatly appreciated and I'll try and update as frequently as possible. I will probably include Chapter Two with this upload, if not then I apologise for the cliffhanger. -LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter One: Introducing Violet

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _February 2, 2528_

 _07:32 hrs_

 _Gymnasium_

Violets head shot in their direction as they made sure the door all but slammed shut. She looked away from them, her blonde hair covering her eyes ever so slightly.

"Fuck off! I'm seriously not in the mood." Violet warned.

"Why not?" The first one snickered.

"Yeah, we've not done anything... well not yet anyway." The second one said.

Violet should've known this would happen, it'd been happening for years now. Violet knew she should've resolved it much sooner, but she didn't, instead she'd suffered through it and blocked them out for all those years and even throughout missions. They were expected to resolve shit themselves. There'd been no spoon feeding for the years they'd all been training here. Now here she was, stuck in the gym, cornered by the two assholes that had been bullying her for years. The first one was Sierra Oh-Five-Five, but everyone had nicknamed him 'Fives'. To Violet? He was just 'Asshole Number 1'. The second was Vince, Sierra Oh-Three-Two or 'Asshole Number 2'. She didn't know why they'd chosen to target her, she assumed they were just naturally born pricks with little in the way of confidence.

She punched the punching bag once more in frustration, her blonde hair moving a little as she did. A solid _'thump'_ reverberated slightly through the tense atmosphere.

"So," She began. "You've moved on from harassment and invasion of privacy to move onto a more physical activity? Took you long enough, but don't you have anything better to do?" She asked frustratedly.

"Nope," Fives replied nonchalantly. "And considering I'm team leader, Violet, I order you to suck it up a little longer and let this happen."

Violet span around, her green eyes daring him to try something. Some fucking leader he was. A leader is supposed to look out for their whole team. He had a tendency to look out for everyone but her.

This was going to end one of two ways, either she would be laying on that floor, bloodied and beaten or it was going to be them. She knew what she wanted and they knew what they wanted. She shifted her feet, solidifying her balance and preparing herself for an attack.

Both boys saw, smirked at each other and rushed her, one slightly behind the other. This was it, the final confrontation. It was time to show these pricks that you don't _fuck_ with a girl from Troy.


	2. Chapter 2: The Final Confrontation

Chapter 2: The Final Confrontation

 _07:33 hrs_

 _Gymnasium_

As soon at Fives was within reach, he launched a fast punch directed towards Violet's face. She sidestepped the attack and jabbed him in the ribs before blocking a strike to her face again, this time from Vince. As the hit connected with her block he went to follow up with another punch, this attack was the one she countered. Violet grabbed both his arms, lowered them, pulled him in close and struck the bridge of his nose with a powerful headbutt. Vince recoiled from the hit, feeling liquid on his top lip he went to investigate. Looking at his bloodied fingers and finally feeling the pain from the broken nose, he let out an enraged cry as he went back in to help out Fives.

Violet had been busy blocking the flurry off attacks from Fives and had been too focused on finding an opening to notice Vince until it was too late, he tackled her to the ground with a spin. If Vince was in a more focused state of being, he would've known to hold onto Violet through the whole fall and to try and avoid the spin. Thankfully for her he wasn't, and he let go of her on the way down, putting some distance between them. Fives made his way over to Violet whilst she was getting up, and was met with a kick to the knee, the kick forced him to bend down and hold it out of reflex, which rewarded him with a hard kick to the face. He fell back, and quickly got himself up before Violet, kicking her in the face in return whilst she was still getting up and followed up by stomping on her chest, winding her.

Violet cried out in pain and coughed. She wasn't about to give up, not now. She remained calm and whilst Fives was regaining his second wind, she stood and made a beeline for him. He looked to Violet, but was too slow to block the punch she sent to his lower wards. He cried in pain and doubled over, giving Violet an opening to send two vengeful kicks to his face, breaking his nose, busting his lip and most likely giving him a black eye too.

She took a step back and watched as he gave up, opting to just lay there. She stared at him and made the decision to ensure he was out of the fight for certain. She kicked him hard and fast in the gut, the sound of his cry and wheezing not deterring her in the slightest. Almost forgetting about Vince, she turned to see him staring at her in shock. That shock quickly turned to rage as he charged towards her. Violet remained unmoving, waiting for the last second before she span out of his way, putting her arm out clothes-lining him, and sending him to the floor in a heap. She positioned herself on top of him and went to bring her fist down but stopped as he cried out in surrender. She stared down to the frightened eyes of her former team member and bully. She stood up off him and left him on the floor.

That was when Chief Petty Officer Mendez burst into the gym. Little did the three know but he had seen the whole ordeal, and he looked conflicted. He didn't know how to feel. Enraged that it transpired into a brawl after so many years and chances of avoiding it? Or relieved and... proud? Relieved was reasonable because it was finally over, but why did he want to feel proud? He knew the answer as soon as he asked himself the question. He was proud because even after two teammates turned on her and being out numbered, she remained calm throughout the whole fight. One thing was certain though, he couldn't let this slide.

"Violet!" He barked.

Violet looked to him then looked to the two boys on the floor. She knew what he was going to say and opted to silently head to his office and wait there. Mendez knew where she was going, although her face was neutral, her eyes told him everything. That she didn't regret her actions because she had defended herself, but she knew that leaving them in that state was worse than just beating them. They were extremely lucky to survive the augmentation process, they all were. But that didn't give them the right to beat each other to a pulp, _especially_ teammates.

Mendez sighed and called for medics to assist the two boys in the gym. He took his cap off and rubbed the top of his head before placing it back on and heading to his office. He recalled back to when John S-117 had a fight with four ODSTs from the 105th, and how he'd killed one of them and knocked the other three unconscious. He was just thankful no one died today.

"God damn." Was all he said as he exited the gym.


	3. Chapter 3: Reassignment

**A/N: This is a shorter chapter, but as the title says, it's all about Violets reassignment. Chapter 4 will go up with this one and it'll introduce Violet to Indigo 1, her new leader.**

Chapter 3: Reassignment

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _07:40 hrs_

 _Outside CPO Franklin Mendez's Office_

Violet had chosen to sit on the floor with her back against the wall whilst waiting for the CPO. She looked to her hands for the fifth time and rolled her eyes.

 _'They had it coming,'_ She thought to herself. _'The only silver lining is that I didn't start it.'_

She wasn't perfect, hell, no one here was. They'd been kidnapped at such a young age and augmented beyond belief that they could all quite possibly have psychological trauma because of it. It took a long time for them to socialise with others, if the augmentations didn't cause any psychological trauma, then the fact they could have died during the process like so many others had certainly could. But they fought through it, they had to.

Violet was so caught up in her own musings she hadn't heard CPO Mendez until he barked her name for the second time that day. She shot up off the floor and stood to attention.

"At ease." Mendez sighed, opening his door and indicating with his head for her to follow. He sat down behind his desk with Violet standing in front of him.

"Take a seat Spartan," He began. "Now..." He sighed, trying to find his words for what may have been the first time ever for him. "Now I do _NOT_ condone what you did to those two. At all. Yes, I've known about what they've been doing for as long as they've been doing it, but, as you know, we expect all of you to resolve problems independently... and I expected it resolved peacefully years ago. There was no reason for it to escalate into a brawl, and certainly no need to leave them in a condition like that."

Violet remained silent, with her head down. She was thankful Mendez was refusing to acknowledge the fact that she wasn't looking at him. He was a hard-ass, but that's why he was so respected by everyone.

"Now, due to the events that conspired in the gym today, you will no longer be a member of Royal. After observing how you remained calm under pressure and out numbered, I have decided to reassign you to Fireteam Indigo."

Violet looked up at Mendez and nodded. She was a little uncertain about getting to know a new team as she wasn't exactly a people person. Her old team, Fireteam Royal, had grown on her at first. But she'd hated it for years ever since Fives and Vince started to pick on her for no apparent reason. She hoped that Indigo would grow on her and that she wouldn't have to deal with anything like that again. She couldn't go through another experience like that.

"The last time something like that happened, three ODSTs were left unconscious with another dead. I don't want another incident like the gym, understood?"

"Yes Sir." Violet said. She knew which incident he was referring to, everyone knew about it.

Mendez nodded, "Come with me then, I'll introduce you to the team leader. One of the nicest Spartans on this base." He said, hoping to comfort her.

Mendez stood and left the office, holding the door open for Violet. With that, they headed to where Indigos leader would undoubtedly be at this time of morning: the firing range.


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting Indigo 1

**A/N: And here's Chapter 4, as promised. enjoy. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 4: Meeting Indigo 1

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _07:50 hrs_

 _Firing range_

As they got closer to the firing range, Violet could make out the unmistakable sound of the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle and the _'bzzzz'_ of one precision hit after the other being recorded. Entering the firing range, there stood Fireteam Indigos leader, in full dark blue Spartan armour with silver highlights used sparingly on the armour, DMR in hand and one hundred percent focused on hitting the last fast moving target. They remained silent allowing Indigos leader to focus.

The rifle fired, releasing a satisfying bang into the air around them.

"Sierra Oh-Four-Five." Mendez called. They both watched as the Spartan turned their head to them, raised a finger signalling them to wait as they reloaded and placed the weapon back on the weapon rack. Finally turning around to face them fully, the leader removed their helmet to reveal the prettiest girl Violet had ever seen. She was an African-American girl and she had dark brown, slightly curled hair tied up in a ponytail that fell on her left shoulder as she removed her helmet. The Spartan tucked her silver visored prototype Recon helmet under her arm and reached for the old, yet well preserved white and navy blue baseball cap with a 'D' on the front that was laying on the table and put it on. She greeted them both with a warm smile.

"Clementine," Mendez addressed the girl. "This is Violet, Sierra Oh-Four-One. Violet, Clementine, Sierra Oh-Four-Five. I've assigned her to your Fireteam after an incident involving herself and two former team members of hers. One of them being her team leader."

"Idiots," She whispered, looking away quickly, before turning to address them. "What happened? Should I be concerned?" She asked. Amber eyes full of concern landed on Violet who could feel a blush staining her face. No one really knew about the conflict between three of the members in Fireteam Royal, but, just like Violet, Clementine (and her Fireteam: Indigo) had no idea why it started, but she definitely knew who Mendez was referring to. She would have done something to help, but it was a team matter. One she had no right in interfering with.

Violet shook her head, still fighting down the blush from the concern Clementine was showing. She had no idea she was going to be put on a team with someone so God damn gorgeous.

Clementine noticed Violets face and frowned at bruises and split lip. She looked up to the CPO. "Don't worry Sir, she's in safe hands, I won't let anything happen to her." She said.

Mendez nodded, satisfied. " I know. I'll leave you two young ladies to get acquainted." Mendez exited the range, leaving the two young adults alone.

Clementine looked to Violet with a smile and noticed she was trying hard to hide her blush but failing miserably. Clementine was flattered that she got a reaction like that out of the girl.

 _'The bruises only add to her beauty.'_ Clementine thought idly.

Violet smiled back at Clementine. At times like this she hated not being a people person.

"You sure you're ok?" Clementine asked. Saving her from an awkward first encounter.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll ah, I'll be fine... I think." Violet replied rather nervously, still recovering from her fight not an hour ago. She gently touched her split lip unconsciously, quickly removing her finger from her lip as soon as she felt the sting of pain.

Clementine frowned again at how shaky her new teammate looked. It was killing her seeing Violet like this. She had no doubt that Violet wasn't usually like this, but she had just recently been attacked to two former teammates, and to make it worse, one was her leader. Right now, she needed comforting and a friend. Then she came up with an idea.

"You want to get a coffee?" She asked.

Violet visibly brightened at this and nodded her affirmative getting another smile from Clementine.

"C'mon," She said with a smile, heading for the door. "You look like you could use one."


	5. Chapter 5: Reassurance

**A/N: Had a slight problem with my laptop when this chapter went up. in this update nothing has changed story wise, I've only changed the spacing and added italics to the appropriate locations (emphasis on words and the date/time and location of the chapter). - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 5: Reassurance

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _07:55 hrs_

 _Spartan Cafeteria_

The two headed down to the cafeteria in comfortable silence, happy to leave any conversation for when they were sat down with hot drinks in hand.

"Drinks are on me." Clementine said with a smile once they entered the cafeteria.

"Oh, you don't ne-" Violet began, only for Clementine to cut her off.

"Not another word." Clementine said, bumping Violets shoulder playfully. Without giving her time to protest again, Clementine walked off to get the drinks, leaving Violet to secure seats for them.

Violet went and found somewhere out of the way. Thankfully for her, practically everyone chose to sit in the centre, meaning she could happily sit on her own and enjoy the chatter of the others from a distance. Clementine returned two minutes later with two drinks in hand. She sat down next to Violet, handing her a drink and putting her helmet on the table.

"The fact that you chose here tells me you're not exactly a social butterfly." Clementine said softly.

Violet nodded in confirmation, taking a sip of coffee.

Clementine smiled. "How about we just start with getting to know each other first then? How's that sound?" She asked.

"Yeah, I-I'd uh, I'd like that." Violet said, fumbling with her words a little. She still felt a little on edge.

"So Blondie," Clementine started, only to see Violet shaking her head with a small smile at the nickname.

"That nickname is _so_ not happening." She said, almost laughing.

Clementine, however, did laugh. "Alright, is Vi better?"

"It is." Violet said.

Clementine nodded. "So... Vi, where're you from?"

"Troy."

Clementine was surprised. She figured she'd be the only one from Troy. Then again, now that she thought about it more, she was pretty sure everyone originally thought the same about themselves.

"I... huh, wow," Clementine said with a surprised smile. "I thought I was the only one from Troy."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what everyone thinks about themselves at first." Violet teased, causing Clementine to smirk at her.

"Little Miss Smartass huh? You'll give Louis a run for his money." She said laughing.

"Louis?"

"You'll probably hate him at first, but he'll grow on you. Trust me."

"Dare I even ask why I'm probably going to hate him?" Violet questioned. She'd rather be prepared for what was coming instead finding out herself.

"In short? He's the 'jokester' of the group." Clementine notified her. "This morning he thought it'd be funny to hide my civvies whilst I was in the shower." Clementine shook her head. "I'm always at the firing range of a morning, but today, he gave me another reason to go there."

Violet shook her head, hoping he wouldn't pull a stunt like that on her.

They spoke a while longer, getting to know each other better and, as they spoke, Violet felt she was almost ready to meet her new team and settle into her new living quarters. She had to admit, one of the best things about living on the base was that it was big enough to contain private living spaces for the teams. Each team and fireteam had their own lounge, individual bedrooms and two bathrooms. Their bedrooms were close enough to wake or warn the others on their team, but far enough from other areas of the base so not to disturb anyone else.

The two girls had quickly gone from getting to know each other to having a genuine laugh together, something Violet didn't think she could do so freely. After all, she wasn't exactly a 'social butterfly' as Clementine had put it.

Then, out of the blue and with a smile, Violet thanked Clementine.

Clementine was caught off guard, but she recovered quickly and smiled back at Violet.

"What for?" Clementine asked, genuinely confused.

"For being here, for comforting and looking out for me... for being my only friend since I arrived here." Violet sighed a sad sigh. "I just wish I'd been paired with you all those years ago. I wasn't friends with anyone in Royal, I just tolerated them. So... you know."

Clementine put her arm over Violets shoulders, causing both girls to blush a little and Violet to look at her. Clementine smiled a sad yet heart warming smile at her.

"Well, you're here now, that's all that matters."

Violet nodded and smiled back at Clementine.

"So," Violet began. "Shall we meet the rest?" She asked.

Clementine smiled brightly at her, removed her arm from behind Violet, stood up from her seat and picked up her helmet.

"You're going to love them, I promise."

As Violet followed Clementine out of the cafeteria, she felt genuinely excited for the first time in years. If they were anything like Clementine, then she was certain she'd get along with them just fine.


	6. Chapter 6: Intermission at Indigo

Chapter 6: An Intermission at Indigo

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _09:10 hrs_

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

Inside Fireteam Indigo's living quarters, Louis, S-015, glanced down at his watch and groaned. 09:10. Clementine had been at the firing range longer than usual. Sure, she had told them all that she enjoyed the 'calm' and 'quiet' of the range when she needed some space, and that her quarters didn't have the same effect, but she'd been out since 07:20, she'd been gone longer than usual. He looked at his watch again, not even a minute had passed. He groaned for a second time, gaining the attention of Mitch, S-049, who was sat across from him.

"Dude, what is wrong with you?" He asked exasperatedly.

"Have you noticed how long Clem's been gone?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, one hour fifty and counting. Why?"

Louis looked at him as though he'd grown a second head. "What do you mean 'why?'." He almost cried.

"She's told us that she enjoys the time she spends at the range. Plus, you seriously pissed her off with that shit you pulled this morning at 07:10. Remember?"

Louis remembered. Clementine had to be one of the kindest people he knew besides Ruby, S-019, their medic, and he chose to pull a rather cruel 'prank' on her. Whilst Clementine was in the shower, he thought it'd be a great idea to hide her civvies. When she finished her shower at 07:15, she'd stormed out in nothing but a towel, towards the living area surprising Mitch and Marlon, S-077, as she passed them.

 _"Uh, Clem, why ar-" Clementine cut Mitch off with a glare that almost dared him to finish the sentence._

 _Clementine never got that pissed off unless there was a reason for it, and they would soon all learn, she had a bloody good reason for._

 _"LOUIS!" She snapped, as soon as she entered their main living space and her eyes found him._

 _"Hey, Clem, what's with the towel?" Louis asked, playing innocent._

 _Clementine continued to glare at Louis. Undeterred by his attempt to lighten the situation._

 _"Where. Are. My. Clothes?" She growled. "But more importantly. How did you even unlock the door to the bathroom?"_

 _"I uh... entered the emergency override code?" Louis asked, more than answered._

 _"Was that an answer or a question Louis?" Marlon asked from behind Clementine._

 _"Answer." Louis said looking away from Clementine's intense glare._

 _"Let me get this straight: you used the emergency override code for emergencies, just to hide her clothes for a prank?" Mitch asked disbelievingly._

 _Louis nodded at Mitch, who shook his head at his friend._

 _Marlon took in the scene once more before shaking his head with a sigh and leaving for the cafeteria._

 _"Clothes. Now." Clementine ordered._

 _Louis went and retrieved her clothes handing them to her._

 _She took them off him and entered her room to change. Clementine emerged again at 07:19 and left at 07:20._

Louis sighed, he'd seriously pissed off Clementine this morning. What made it worse was that he rarely pulled any jokes or pranks on her, the most he did was harmlessly tease her and she'd play along.

"Man, I wish I could apologise to her for this morning." Louis said dejectedly.

"Yep," Mitch replied. "That'd be a good idea."

There was a beep and the 'whoosh' of the main door opening to reveal Marlon and Ruby.

"Hey you two." Louis greeted

"Hey." Marlon greeted back, taking a seat on the first couch with Louis and putting his feet up on the table in the centre of the three couches.

Ruby slowly made her way over to the second couch and sat down next to Mitch, seemingly drained of most of her energy.

"Alright," Mitch began, looking to Ruby as she sat. "Why the fuck do you look like you've been treating serious injuries for almost two hours straight?"

"Because I practically have been." Was Ruby's tired reply.

"Oh shit ok, I was uh, I was just joking." Mitch stumbled a bit. "So, what the fuck happened?" He asked her.

"You know Fives and Vince? Royal One and Four?"

Mitch nodded. "Yeah, I remember Clem talking about them ages ago. Why you ask?"

"Well, I was finishing up after helping out in the infirmary this morning when they were rushed in. Both were seriously injured."

"Well what happened to them" Louis asked.

Ruby sighed. "Violet, Royal Two, happened to them."

"You mean she finally fuckin' did something about her problem?" Mitch asked. Referring to the time Clementine had told them all about the conflict in Royal but had ordered them to stay out of it.

Ruby nodded.

"FUCKIN' A!" Cheered Mitch which was followed by a 'booyah' from Louis and an approving nod from Marlon.

"She didn't have to beat 'em so badly though." Ruby whispered. She did feel terrible for Violet, but she really wished she hadn't done that much damage to them. It had taken a long time to clean and patch them up. They were currently still in there, recovering.

"What?! Yes she did!" Mitch exclaimed. "They've put her through too much shit. Would've done the same thing myself were I in her position... the only difference being: I would've done it sooner."

"You don't really mean that, do you Mitch?" Ruby asked.

"I think he does." Marlon said from the couch.

"Yeah, I do." Mitch confirmed.

Just as Mitch said this, there was another beep as the door opened again to reveal Clementine with Violet next to her.

They all looked to the new arrival.

"Guys," Clementine said, addressing her team. "This is Violet."


	7. Chapter 7: Introducing Indigo

**A/N: We're slowly coming to the end of introducing the characters. Chapters 9 and 10 are going to set up a mission for Fireteam Indigo, so there's a little something to hopefully look forward to. I'm not going to say anymore, but Chapter 9 is** ** _technically_** **the beginning of Fireteam Indigo's story. I'll be uploading Chapter 8 alongside this one. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 7: Introducing Indigo

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _09:29 hrs_

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

"You go girl!" Mitch cheered, surprising both Violet and Clementine. "Ruby told me about what you did," He said walking up to her. "Assholes had it coming. Name's Mitch."

Violet – although feeling a little awkward due to the praise Mitch gave her – smiled her greeting to Mitch who nodded and headed for the couch he was previously sat at.

"Come one, let me introduce you to the rest." Clementine said, ushering her inside. The two of them sat at the third couch and Clementine began to introduce her. "That's Ruby," She said pointing to the short haired red head. "She's the teams medic-"

"And she's _not_ impressed with how you left Fives and Vince," Ruby scolded. "Even _if_ they had it coming, as Mitch said."

Violet looked away guiltily.

"I'm sorry sug, it's just..." Ruby sighed. "Let me try again. My name's Ruby, hon. Pleasure to meet you."

Violet looked up at her and allowed a quick upturn of her lips. "Nice to meet you Ruby." Violet greeted.

Ruby beamed at her and was rewarded with an full smile from Violet.

"That's Mitch, as you know." Clementine said. "He's," She laughed when she saw the face Mitch had. It was a _don't ruin my moment_ face. "Go ahead Mitch." Clementine said with a chuckle.

Mitch nodded his head in appreciation. "Name's Mitch as you know. I'm the teams Grenadier and explosives expert."

"He loves blowing shit up!" Louis cut in with a smile.

Clementine sighed a little. "That," She said pointing to Louis with a small smile. "Is the asshole that stole my clothes this morning. Louis. Say hi Louis."

Louis looked to Violet. "Hi Louis." He said to her with a wide smile.

Violet shook her head amusedly at his greeting.

Louis looked back to Clementine. "Look, Clem, I'm sorry ok? Can we go back to being friends? Pretty please?" His apology sincere and his begging playful.

Violet found it hard to stop the small chuckle that escaped due to his begging.

Louis smirked. "See, she thinks the begging is funny." He said.

"No, I think it's pathetic." Violet corrected, earning laughs from the others.

"Yikes. Words hurt Violet." Louis said, feigning hurt.

"We'll see Louis." Clementine said playfully.

"Well, it's better than no." He said playing along.

"And last, but certainly not least, is Marlon." Clementine said, directing Violets attention to where Marlon was sat.

Marlon raised his hand in greeting.

"Marlon is the team Sniper," Clementine said. "And Louis is his spotter. Louis may seem like he doesn't take shit seriously, but he does, and he's one hell of a spotter."

"Well thanks Clem, that means a lot." Louis said, placing a hand over his heart.

"It's nice to meet you all." Violet said with a smile on her face as she looked to the faces of her new team, and hopefully friends.

"You know what I think we should do?" Louis spoke up. When he got no response he got up and retrieved a deck of cards from one of the desks in the room and sat back down. "Were gonna play War. The oldest game around. A game played by man and beast alike. The only game there is." He turned to Violet. "You know how to play?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"It's easy," Marlon said. "Everyone gets a stack of cards, everyone flips one over. Highest card wins."

"And the winner gets to as Violet here, a question." Said Louis.

Violet made a face.

"What? I wanna get to know you. I'm pretty sure we all do."

Louis's response was a round of nods.

"And if I win?" Violet asked.

"Then you get to ask one. After all, it's only fair." Clementine finished.

Violet paused for a few seconds before answering. "Ok," She agreed. "Let's play."


	8. Chapter 8: A Game of War

Chapter 8: A Game of War

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _09:40 hrs_

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

Louis shuffled the cards around and divided them into six piles. One for Clementine, Violet, Marlon, Ruby, Mitch and himself. With everything ready, Louis called them to draw. Mitch drew highest with a Ten of Clubs.

"Alright, so. What was it like? The fight I mean." Was Mitch's question.

"Mitch!?" Ruby called in surprise.

"What?! I wanna know!" Mitch defended.

"It's fine Ruby, don't worry, I'll answer." Violet said. "The fight was... scary? I mean, it _was_ a Two V One, I'm just glad it's over."

Everyone accepted the answer and they all drew again. Ruby was up next with a Jack of Hearts.

"Do you regret it?" She asked.

"No." Was Violets simple answer.

"Why n-"

"Ah-ah Rubester." Louis said. "One question at a time."

Violet smiled her thanks to Louis who smiled back at her.

They drew once more with Violet taking the win this time with a King of Hearts.

"Way to go me. So.. how likely is it that Louis will try to embarrass the new girl?" She asked. Unbeknownst to Violet, she had just given Louis the perfect question to ask her to try and do just that.

"Very." Marlon said.

"Very." Agreed Mitch.

"Very." Was Ruby's answer.

"Very." Sighed Clementine.

"Very." Came the reply from Louis. He received multiple looks in response. "What?" He asked innocently. "It is." He said with a smirk.

"Don't worry," Clementine said, shaking her head at Louis. "I've got your back." She said to Violet.

"I appreciate that Clem." Violet said with a kind smile.

"Let's draw." Louis said, and they did.

Louis won with an Ace of Spades.

"I am the best at this." He boasted. He then turned to Violet. "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" He asked.

"Oh my God!" Called Mitch from within his hands, the place were his face called home for the moment due to the question Louis asked.

"Really Louis?" Clementine asked.

Both Ruby and Marlon appeared amused at the question.

"What? It happens. Perfectly valid question." He defended. "So, have you? You can ask if I've ever had a girlfriend. The answer's no, by the way."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's real surprised about that one." Mitch said, still hiding his face in his hands.

Violet looked Louis dead in the eyes. "No." She answered.

"You sure?" He picked. "Not even once."

"Never." Came her stern reply. "Besides," She paused for a second before continuing. "You're not my type."

Clementine blushed at her response and looked away to hide it.

"What does that mean?" Louis asked, gaining laughs from his friends. His main goal now, was to see how much he could embarrass Violet by acting as though he didn't understand what she meant.

"What do you think?" Came Marlon's response, laughing.

Ruby was the first to recover from laughing and noticed a rather red-faced Clementine. She had a feeling she knew why, plus, it wouldn't hurt to see if she could help increase that blush of hers.

"Clem? You alright?" She asked, hiding her own smirk as everyone's attention was directed to Clementine.

Upon realising all eyes were on her, Clementine's blush intensified.

"I'm fine." She assured them, leaving it at that.

They didn't challenge it and drew again. Louis won once again. There was a small pause before Louis's question was asked.

"What did you mean by 'you're not my type'?" Louis asked, impressing himself when he managed to ask with a straight face.

"That's it I'm fuckin' done." Mitch said, standing up.

Violet looked like she was seconds away from dying from embarrassment. She seriously hoped Louis was pulling her leg.

"Where are you going?" Louis asked Mitch as they all watched him make his way to the exit.

"For a run, at this rate, you'll drive me fucking insane." Mitch had said it light-heartedly enough so everyone knew he was kidding, but left enough seriousness for them to know he _might just_ go insane if he stayed.

Louis looked to everyone else as the doors closed. "Was it something I said?" He asked innocently, successfully containing his laughter.

"Yes Louis. Yes it was." sighed Clementine, leaning back further into the corner of the couch, almost like she was trying to disappear.

"I'm going to get some target practice done." Ruby said, standing up and heading to the door. "Coming?" She asked, turning around to the others.

"Sure thing," Marlon said, standing up to join Ruby. "So long as it's the one outside, I can't _really_ practice with a sniper at the indoor firing range now can I?"

Ruby nodded and looked to Louis. "Louis? Coming?" She asked.

"What about my question?" Louis was pushing his luck and he knew it. Ruby looked more pointedly at him.

"You know what? Forget I said anything. See you two later." With his goal to embarrass Violet accomplished, he left with Ruby and Marlon. He couldn't help but think he had accidentally done the same to Clementine too, if her reaction was anything to go by.

A second after they left, Violet heard Clementine sigh a sigh of relief.

"Please tell me Louis was joking?" Violet almost begged.

"He was. I think your question earlier gave him his genius idea to embarrass you."

"You looked pretty embarrassed yourself there Clem." Violet said playfully whilst bumping Clementines shoulder with her own. "Wanna tell me why? I'll draw for it." She teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Clementine said quickly yet unconvincingly.

"You keep telling yourself that Clem, you might convince yourself. Eventually anyway." Violet said with a laugh, getting one from Clementine also.

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Clementine asked Violet if she had everything she needed.

"Ah shit. I don't. It's still in my old quarters." Violet said worriedly, she didn't exactly feel comfortable leaving her stuff there.

"We can go get it?" Clementine suggested. "Or go see Mendez, but I don't think he'd be pleased about us going to him about something so small."

"Agreed." Violet said. She gave it some thought before standing up and heading to the door.

"Vi?" Clementine asked.

Violet turned around and looked at her. "Well? You coming or not? I'm not carrying it all myself."

Clementine smiled and headed over to help Violet retrieve her belongings.


	9. Chapter 9: The Briefing

**A/N: Here's Chapter 9 and what is essentially the beginning of the story. All helmets can be found in Halo Reach (sans Mark IV) as they're the varaitions I'll be using. In the upcoming chapters I'll be using the freedom an AU story offers to my advantage. For example, events may happen sooner/later and names of places on planets may be names I've come up with. As for information regarding ships/weapons and anything else Halo, information has been gathered off of Halo Nation and Halopedia. Anyway, thanks for reading and sticking with the story, hope you enjoy this chapter. (Side note: Chapters 10 and 11 will be uploaded at the same time.) - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 9: The Briefing

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2528_

 _07:20 hrs_

 _Firing range_

Three shots were fired followed by the perfect shot buzzer.

It had been two months and seventeen days since Violet had joined Indigo, and she had grown close to everyone one of them, Louis included. The banter the two had during missions and off duty were one of the things she hoped they never lost.

Indigo had been sent out on a number missions after Violet joined. Most involved quelling small Rebel insurrections, whilst others required them to infiltrate Rebel Strongholds to steal intelligence and data on planned attacks. The down side to those missions was that there had been many instances where they had to leave some data behind, either due to the sheer size of the data, or at the risk of being detected. On one mission, Indigo found themselves on Harmony for three weeks. Originally there to assist in rescuing Marines that had been captured by Rebels, they then found themselves assisting with countering a surprise Rebel siege on Firebase Dynamo. It had been a close battle as one member of Indigo had been injured as the siege began, meaning it was down to the other five to do the fighting. It made them realise that they relied on each other more than they thought, and that they couldn't take each other for granted. The siege also tested and improved their teamwork and the ability to remain composed in highly stressful situations (even if being one member down had put a bit of stress on them at first). The Rebels had come close to overrunning the whole base, but, due to Fireteam Indigos assistance, the Rebels were forced to retreat on the twelfth hour of the final day of the week. Indigo had returned to Reach a day later.

Since joining the team, Violet had taken a certain liking to spending time in the firing range of a morning. It had been one of the things that helped her adjust for the first two weeks, as she was still recovering from the attack in the gym.

The second had been in the form of spending time with Clementine. Both girls would head to the firing range together, giving them more opportunities to bond over something they both enjoyed doing. They'd either talk the whole time they were there or just enjoy the comfortable silence between them.

At the beginning of April they agreed to a friendly competition. It was as simple as who had the highest score on the last day of every month. To make it more of a challenge for themselves, they set the movement setting on the targets to maximum, and to make it fair, they'd start and finish at the same time. They also agreed to wipe their score the first day of every month.

This morning they were there as usual, enjoying the presence of the other and both laser focused on hitting the speeding targets.

"That was lucky." Violet huffed when Clementine hit her three quick precision hits.

Clementine exhaled. "Yeah, it was."

Violet remained rooted, her eyes tracking one target then two. She carefully memorised their paths and went to pull the trigger to hit the first.

The intercom around the base suddenly came to life, surprising Violet enough for her to pull the trigger and miss her target completely.

She slammed the DMR she was using on the counter in front of her (thankfully not hard enough to damage the counter or weapon), removed her helmet, span around and glared daggers at the offending piece of hardware, only just catching the end of the announcement.

"...peat. Fireteam Indigo is to report to Briefing Room immediately."

Violet remained fixed in place, daring the intercom to come to life again so she had a reason to tear it off the wall. Clementine stood next to her amused, and placed her weapon down onto the counter. She thankfully still had her helmet on so Violet couldn't see her failing to hide her growing smile. Ten seconds passed and Violet still hadn't moved nor said anything.

"What the actual fuck!?" Violet suddenly shouted at the intercom.

That was enough to have Clementine break down laughing, having to remove her helmet to breathe properly.

Violet glared at Clementine, only causing her to laugh more.

"Oh, I'm glad you find this hilarious Clementine." Violet said. Trying hard to remain as pissed off as possible at the fact that she had lost her chance of overtaking Clementines score for now. But as her best friend laughed more, she couldn't help but join her.

"C'mon Ms. I'm-too-competetive-for-my-own-good," Clementine teased. "Let's see what they want."

On their way to the Briefing Room, Louis, in his dark green armour sans helmet which he was holding, almost ran into them.

"Jesus, it's not like you two to be dragging behind, you're usually the first two there." He said, falling in behind the two jogging girls. "Being late usually falls down to me."

As the three jogged down the hallways, they received a few good luck wishes from the people they passed.

"I know. We may have had an itty, bitty outburst at the firing range." Clementine teased, bumping Violets shoulder, who shook her head with a small smile on her lips.

"You didn't break or dent anything, right?" Louis asked. "Faraway will flip his shit if he has to buff out another counter." Louis teased whilst still being one hundred percent serious.

"Hey, I haven't broken anything yet." Violet defended herself.

"Oh I know," Confirmed Louis. "Just making sure you know is all."

They arrived a couple minutes later. Ruby, Mitch and Marlon were already armoured up and waiting for them.

Ruby's armour sported the classic white and red of a medic. Her helmet was the Mark V Gen 1 HAZOP and its visor was almost as white as her armour.

Mitch wore jet black armour with prominent red markings. His helmet was the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour/G, or GUNGNIR. Its visor, a single small circle on the left side of the helmet. Mitch's visor was bright red, giving the impression that a singular red eye was staring right at you.

Marlon was also in jet black armour but with blue markings instead. His helmet was the classic Mark IV. Marlons visor was jet black, just like his armour.

Louis was inspecting his helmet which was the MJOLNIR VI/S, or 'Scout'. Louis used this helmet as it came with a hardened uplink/remote sensor package installed. This would allow him to easily spot and call out targets and distance for Marlon. Louis' visor was gold.

Violets own armour was similar to Clementines, except Violet's was dark purple, not dark blue, yet they both shared the silver highlights. Where Clementines helmet was the Recon prototype (designated MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour/R), Violets was the MJOLNIR/AA, or 'Air Assault', which was developed as an improvement to the ODST helmet. Violets visor was jet black, like Marlons.

Mendez stood before them, hands behind his back and directed their attention to a projection of their target.

"This _was_ a small UNSC powerhouse," He began, zooming in on the target more for them. "I say 'was', because it was recently attacked and overrun by local Rebels. We need you to retake that powerhouse, by any means necessary. Any question?"

Clementine raised her hand. "Opposing forces strength Sir?"

"Small, Spartan, they caught our troops off guard with the attack." Clementine nodded her understanding.

Louis raised his hand this time.

"If it's only a small group, why send in a Spartan Fireteam of six and not a few squads of Marines?" He asked.

Mendez looked him dead in the eye and didn't answer, he didn't need to.

Mitch hit his shoulder. "I wouldn't." He warned.

Louis remained silent after that.

"Any other questions?" Mendez asked.

Everyone remained frozen and silent, awaiting dismissal.

"Dismissed Spartans, your Pelican is waiting on exterior landing pad A-5."

They all saluted and left the Briefing Room going to the armoury before heading outside for their awaiting Pelican dropship.

"Really Louis, that was your question?" Mitch asked disbelievingly. "Fuckin' A." He sighed.

"Mitch. Please?" Clementine asked, a not-so-subtle request for him to drop it, and he did. "Let's get this over with quickly. Agreed?"

Five status lights turned green on her HUD.


	10. Chapter 10: That's What We Were Told

Chapter 10: That's What We Were Told

 _Outskirts of the ex-UNSC powerhouse_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2528_

 _09:26 hrs_

 _Estimated 900 meters until visual contact with the powerhouse_

The Pelican ride had been a long one, but now Indigo was finally disembarking their ride. They were on the outskirts of the powerhouse, a mixed bag of jagged rock faces, rocks and trees littered their surroundings. About 300 meters in front of them two rock faces came together to create a makeshift cave.

"We'll radio for pick-up when we're finished." Clementine called to the pilot as she exited the co-pilots seat. With a thumbs up from the pilot, Clementine made her way out of the cockpit, down the Pelican and hopped off the back.

Indigo set off at a steady pace in direction of the powerhouse, the whirring of the Pelican gaining altitude behind them. Violet and Mitch were on point. Violet with her M392 DMR and a M6G Magnum as her side arm, and Mitch on her left, holding an MA37 ICWS (Individual Combat Weapon System) Assault Rifle with an M41 SPNKR Rocket Launcher on his back and M6G Magnum attached to his leg holster. Mitch had a selection of grenades and explosives attached to a harness that went diagonally across his chest armour.

Behind them was Clementine, who also carried a DMR and Magnum like Violet. Ruby was on Clementines right, she carried an BR55 Service Rifle, commonly known as the Battle Rifle, and M6G Magnum.

Louis and Marlon were at the back of the group. Marlon had a System 99 Anti-Matériel Sniper Rifle on his back and also had a BR55 Service Rifle, in hand with a Magnum on his leg holster too.

Louis was on Marlons right and was carrying a spare Sniper for him on his back with a DMR and Magnum as his own weapons.

Mitch checked his RADAR out of habit for his teams location. Upon seeing they were all together, he then looked to the faint blue line highlighting their quickest route to the objective. He shrugged, his SPNKR shuffling as he did so. It was still early in the day, they had around ten hours of daylight left at least. Unfortunately for them, it wouldn't take that long to get there, which meant that once they got to the objective, there was the possibility of being spotted.

"You good?" Violet asked, noticing Mitch's shrug.

He looked to her then back in front. "I'm good Vi." He assured her.

Violet nodded in response, glancing at her own HUD quickly then putting her eyes back on track.

They'd been walking for a while before someone spoke again.

"Hey," Louis called on the teams COMM, six helmets turned to him. "Cave up ahead." He said, indicating for them to look up front with his finger.

They all readjusted their sights to the cave Louis mentioned.

"Well we've been moving fast." Marlon stated.

"Nah," Mitch said. "We're just eager to get this done."

"Either way, that leaves us with at least 600 meters until the powerhouse is in sight." Clementine said to them.

"Yeah, but we still need a good place for us to set up." Marlon said, indicating to Louis and himself with a finger.

"Knowing Violets aim, she'll need all the support she can get." Louis teased.

"Fuck you Louis." Violet said, flipping him the middle finger.

Louis let out a hearty chuckle. He had to admit, he certainly enjoyed the banter he and Violet shared together.

Once they reached the married rock face, they activated their night vision to help navigate safely through the surprisingly dark makeshift cave. Halfway through, they heard the sound of small rocks hitting the floor around them followed closely by the sound of five or six UH-144 Falcons passing over the top of them. Looking at each other, they made a run for the exit, emerging just in time to see them land down around the powerhouse.

Clementine looked to Louis who nodded and checked the distance between the powerhouse and them.

"Looks like we're closer than we thought Boss," He said, turning to her. "It's only about 210 meters away, tops. We stick out like sore thumbs to the snipers, we're lucky they haven't made us yet."

"That settles it then. Louis, Marlon, you'll stay here, you've got enough height to cover us easily. Mitch, Ruby and Vi, you're with me." Clementine ordered, taking point and advancing towards their objective.

Green lights flashed in acknowledgement as everyone did as they were ordered. Upon hearing Mitch, Ruby and Violet behind her, Clementine sped up to a jog. Going through the cave had given them the height advantage, but also dropped them in a bit too close. They needed to get there as quickly as possible to regain control of that powerhouse. There wasn't a direct path down so it took the four of them about 3 minutes at their pace to follow their new route there.

The sound of three more Falcons caused the group of four to find cover as they passed overhead.

From their vantage point, Louis and Marlon watched as more troops began to disembark the newly arrived Falcons. Marlon averted his eyes from his snipers scope and turned his head to look at his best friend.

"You saw too?" Louis asked, feeling his friends eyes on him. Slight worry coated his words.

"Yeah." Marlon whispered.

"Hey, Clem?"

"Go ahead Louis."

"We... well we've got a slight problem." he said hesitantly.

Clementine was dreading what could come out of his mouth next. "How so?" She asked.

"This is no small group, Clem. Looks like they've already transformed it into a fucking _stronghold_."

Clementine said nothing for a minute which worried Louis.

"We we're told there was only small opposition." Clementine said, confused at to how the Rebels had moved so quick.

"Yeah, that's what we were told then Clem. But this is now." Replied Louis.

Clementine sighed, already frustrated with the sudden development. "Numbers?" She asked.

"Can't confirm."

"We could wait it out," Suggested Violet. "Wait until it's dark out."

"Which would give more the opportunity to arrive." Countered Mitch. "It's too risky, I say we go in guns blazing, get it over and done with so we can get back quicker."

"It's your call." Ruby reminded her.

Both were sound ideas, but Mitch was right. The sooner the better. Clementine looked to Mitch.

"I hope you have enough explosives."

Mitch smirked behind his helmet and his light winked green.


	11. Chapter 11: Reclaiming The Powerhouse

Chapter 11: Reclaiming The Powerhouse

 _Planet Reach_

 _09:56 hrs_

 _Ex-UNSC powerhouse_

Clementine ordered Marlon and Louis to watch Mitch's back while he placed explosive charges around the exterior of the powerhouse at their side. The plan was to set them off at to confuse and draw the Rebels out into the open at their position. This would give Marlon the opportunity to pick some off before they fled back inside the walls for safety, but at the same time allow, Clementine, Ruby, Violet and Mitch to open fire on the Rebels from behind some of the rocks that were dotted around the area.

As Mitch worked on planting the explosives, Clementine, Ruby and Violet made their way behind the available rocks, preparing for all hell to break loose.

Mitch finished up two minutes later, making sure to double check the explosives before taking up cover behind the same rock as Clementine and patting her shoulder to let her know he'd finished. Handing her the detonator, he prepared himself.

"Ready?" Clementine asked via COMM. She smiled when five status lights went green. "Detonation in, three. Two." And with that, one huge explosion created by three explosives filled the air around them, followed by the shouts of alarm from the Rebels.

The sound of boots hitting grass could be heard around them as the Rebels ran out of the powerhouse. Confusion permeated the thick air around them all which was soon replaced by the 'crack' of a sniper round bursting through the air and finding a new home inside a Rebel's skull.

"Back inside!" One cried, only to be silenced by another round from Marlon, who fired his remaining two bullets, taking down another two.

As the Rebels ran for the safety of the powerhouse, Clementine, Violet, Ruby and Mitch burst from cover, opening fire on the Rebels that were unfortunate enough to still be outside.

Mitch saw a slope to his right which led up to the wall around the powerhouse. Pinging it for the other three he made his way up and onto the walls. The first thing he came across at the top of the slope was a building on his immediate left. Heading to the doorway and peering inside he noted it must be some kind of control centre for the powerhouse, yet on his right were stairs that led down to a lower level. Checking his ammo counter that read 12, he reloaded his rifle and vaulted over the railing to his right.

Landing at the bottom of the stairs he turned around to see that he'd dropped into some cramped grimy showers with at least ten Rebels hiding out in them; one had a M6G pointed at his face.

"Really?" He scoffed. Looking around at the others inside.

"Really." Came the confident reply from the Rebel holding him at gun point. A smirk on his face.

Mitch holstered his rifle on his back and sighed, visibly bored.

"Fine." He said with a shrug, before punching the Rebel in the face with such force even Mitch felt his jaw snap. With the others in shock for a few seconds, he used that time to clamp his hands on the Rebel he just punched and launched him into the others in the room. He removed two grenades off his harness, pulled both pins and threw them behind him, running up the stairs as he did so.

Only after the grenades exploded did he begin to register the sound of gunfire outside the control room. Sprinting out the door he used to gain access to the control room, he turned left and saw Violet covering Ruby who was ducked behind a concrete barrier tending to a wounded Clementine who had her back resting against the barrier with her helmet off.

"Shit." Mitch said to himself.

Running over to the three and opening fire himself, he made sure to take out a few Rebels before taking cover with them.

"What happened to her?" Shouted Mitch. Noticing that Clementine was still conscious, despite whatever injury she may have.

"A Rebel with a DMR got a lucky shot on her! Hit her right shoulder!" Violet shouted to make herself heard over the noise. "What took you?" She asked.

There was the crack of two sniper shots above them, followed by Marlon calling out two targets down. He'd already dealt with the Rebel that injured Clementine.

"I was busy!" Mitch defended.

"Whatever, just give me the M41!" Violet shouted over the gunfire, holstering her DMR and sticking her hands out for the Rocket.

"Since when were you giving the orders Violet?" Mitch bit at her.

Another shot whizzed overhead with Marlon calling another hit.

"Since Clementine took a round to the shoulder! Now give it!" She ordered sternly.

Mitch said nothing but handed her it anyway with a huff.

Having heard the whole interaction, Clementine was surprised at how well Violet was handling the situation.

Readying the SPNKR, Violet called for covering fire as she moved out of cover, found a better line-of-sight, and aimed at the last remaining Rebels across from her that were dropping in and out of their own cover. She fired two rockets on their position. There was nothing they could do and no where to go. Both rockets impacted and everything went quiet seconds later.

"Holy shit Vi." Louis said over COMM. "You got 'em. Ha ha! You got 'em good!" He cheered.

Violet lowered the Rocket Launcher with a light chuckle at Louis' enthusiasm.

"Clem!" Violet whispered to herself, her friends condition coming back to her. Dropping the M41 and removing her helmet, Violet headed towards Clementine and Ruby, bumping into Mitch on her way over.

"Vi, where's my Boomstick?" Mitch asked, referring to his missing M41 Rocket.

Without a word Violet pointed to where she'd been.

Mitch sighed and walked over to retrieve his weapon.

"Ow, Ruby! Could you bring back your gentle touch?" Clementine yelped, as Ruby inspected her wound, both physically and visually.

"Hold still then!" Ruby chastised. She shook her head amusedly as she heard Clementine sigh. "Well, it looks like it went straight through, but I'll need to stitch up your shoulder at base." She removed a biofoam canister from her tactical/trauma kit. "Gonna need to seal it with this for the time being."

Clementine sighed once more. "Alright," She agreed. "You're the Boss."

Violet reached their side and knelt down next to Ruby as she inserted the nozzle into Clementines shoulder. Violet put her hand on Clementines good shoulder. "You ok?" She asked.

Clementine cursed as Ruby pierced her skin, but turned her attention to Violet upon feeling her hand on her shoulder and saw the concern in her green eyes. She placed a hand on her friends, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It came out of nowhere, and it hurts like a bitch. But I'll be fine." She said with a smile.

"You sure?" Ruby asked. "It was quite the scream you let out when you got hit." She teased.

"It was." Violet agreed with a laugh, shaking her head. Her blonde hair framing her eyes.

"I didn't scream," Clementine said making a face.

"Sure you did Clem," Louis called. Helmet in hand and a huge smile on his face as he made his way over to them with Marlon besides him, who was resting his Sniper on his shoulder. "Heard you from up there." He said, pointing to where the two had been a few minutes beforehand.

Marlon nodded his agreement. "You were lucky you took cover when you did Clem, one more second and that guy would've shot-to-kill." Marlon notified her. "But yeah, It _was_ a pretty loud scream." He said teasingly. His smirk obvious even though it was hidden inside the helmet.

Clementine grumbled a 'thank you' but had a smile on her face anyway at the friendly teasing. She suddenly realised she'd yet to request pick-up and asked if anyone had done so.

"On their way." Mitch said, back with the group. "There was a Pelican in the area, so they've been rerouted to get us. Marines will be here to secure the area in two."

Clementine nodded, relieved. She couldn't wait to get back to base and she was certain the others couldn't either.


	12. Chapter 12: Minnie

**A/N: Chapter 12 introduces another character, which is pretty obvious due to the title. There's a lot of information in this chapter that has been collected off Halo Nation, mainly the information about the Spartan Neural Network and the advantages an AI gives a Spartan. There's also a little easter egg in this chapter to both Minnie and Season 4 Episode 3 of TWD, so props if you find it. Anyways, I believe that's everything, enjoy! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 12: Minnie

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2528_

 _12:01 hrs_

 _Landing pad A-2_

Indigo's Pelican came in to land on exterior landing pad A-2. After a long trip back to base, everyone was eager to get out of their armour. The Pelican landed, rocking slightly as it did and everyone made their way to disembark.

"Ugh, I cannot _wait_ to get out of this armour." Louis groaned as he walked down the exit ramp of the Pelican.

"Jesus Louis, we know!" Mitch exclaimed. "Feels like you've been saying it the whole trip back."

"Not the whole trip. Just the last hour." Louis corrected.

Mitch groaned in response.

"How's that shoulder Clem?" Marlon asked.

"Feels like shit." Clementine replied. She touched her shoulder and winced as more pain shot though. She moved her finger and noticed that the biofoam was beginning to break down. "Ruby," Clementine said, turning to her friend. "Biofoam's breaking down."

"Come on then, I need you out of that armour and soon." Said Ruby.

Louis tried to mask his snicker but failed horribly.

Ruby turned around to glare at him and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." She scolded.

"Sorry." Louis apologised.

Violet came up behind him, hit the back of his head and continued walking towards the entrance with Ruby and Clementine.

"Ow." Louis whispered.

As they entered the doors to the base, they all made their way to the armour assembly station to remove their armour. On their way down, Ruby turned to Clementine.

"I've got the necessary equipment to stitch your shoulder in my room."

"Your room?" Clementine asked.

Ruby nodded. "I keep enough there in case a fight ever breaks out and someone needs stitching. Not that I'm saying it will happen, but better safe than sorry right?"

"Yeah," Clementine agreed. "Better safe than sorry."

* * *

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

 _12:16 hrs_

 _Ruby's room_

As Clementine entered Ruby's room, Ruby pointed to one of her towels.

"Put that over my bed, remove your shirt and lay down on the towel. It doesn't matter if you lay on your front or back first. Either way, I still have to stitch both sides up."

Clementine nodded and did as Ruby instructed, choosing to lay on her front first.

Ruby retrieved her non-absorbable suture kit, sat over Clementine, getting into a comfortable and practical position above her shoulder and placed her kit next to her. She set to work on carefully stitching the wound making sure to take her time as they weren't needed anywhere. Upon finishing, she moved so Clementine could lay on her back. Ruby chose to kneel down on the floor as she stitched the other side so not to make it awkward for either of them.

"Thanks for not... well, you know." Clementine thanked Ruby a little awkwardly.

"Don't mention it." Ruby said.

There was a knock on Ruby's door halfway through the second suture.

"It's open!" Ruby called to whoever was outside.

The door slid open and the attention of both girls was moved to the two people standing there.

"Doctor Halsey? Mendez, Sir?" Clementine asked, lifting her head to look at them both, only to lower it back onto the bed when Ruby moved her attention from stitching her wound to glaring at her. "Forgive us if we don't stand, but what's this about?" Clementine asked.

"I'll let the Doctor here, tell you." Mendez said, moving out of her way and turning to Halsey. "Go ahead Doctor."

"Thank you Franklin. Clementine?" Halsey said, addressing the currently bed-bound girl.

Clementine lifted her head up at her name being said, only to once again lower it when Ruby quietly growled at her.

"I've seen the reports on some of your infiltration missions," Halsey began. "And how you said your team was forced to leave some data behind due to the size or the risk of being detected?"

"All done." Ruby whispered to Clementine, who nodded her thanks and sat up to address Halsey properly.

"That's right." Clementine confirmed. "But with all due respect Ma'am, where's this going?" She asked.

Halsey smiled. "I'm glad you asked. Due to these incidents, I've arranged with Mendez to have an AI paired to your Fireteam." Halsey revealed the Data Crystal Chip which then came to life, revealing a blue female figure with black hair shaved on the left side of her head and medium length hair on the other. She wore a white T-shirt and black jeans and combat boots. "This," Halsey began. "Is Minnie. Service number: MNE 1519-1. She's been assigned to help your team during combat engagements and with the retrieval of any and all data you need to recover and/or extract. She's been keyed into your teams communication channel, which will activate once she's been paired. She's a 'smart' AI and has been specifically designed for combat analysis and data/information extraction, she'll even open any and all locked doors, terminals etcetera, that you may come across. She has access to the journal of all known planets, and will update her matrix with any new discoveries."

Clementine looked at Minnie, who looked at her with a smile. Minnie waved at Clementine before her avatar disappeared. Clementine smiled for a second and then looked back at Halsey, a silent request for her to continue.

"Although she has been assigned to _your_ team, _you_ must choose who she will be paired with. And yes, you may choose yourself." Halsey told her.

Clementine looked to Ruby. She shook her head, silently telling her she didn't want to be paired with Minnie and that this choice was one she would have to make alone. Clementine now had a huge decision to make. One she couldn't take lightly.

"One more thing," Halsey said, gaining the attention of Clementine again. "Whoever you choose will have to undergo surgery to equip them with a Spartan Neural Interface, which will give Minnie the ability to directly interface with their brain. She will also significantly improve the data transfer between the motor cortex of who you choose and the MJOLNIR's processing unit, further improving the already lightning-quick reaction time of the Spartan. I have also prepared new and upgraded suits for all of you. These suits will give Minnie access to most of the internal systems of whoever she is paired with, though the Spartan will have override control. You should also know that the Data Crystal Chip is removable, so neither Minnie or the Spartan you choose will have to be together twenty-four seven."

Clementine let the room hang in silence for a minute, mulling everything she had been told over. Which was a lot. Still, she couldn't help but feel like there was more to this. Deciding to find out, she asked, "Is there another reason you're doing this?"

Halsey was surprised and it showed on her face. Taking advantage of her reaction Clementine continued to push.

"What's the _real_ reason you're doing this? It can't just be because of my reports, because it isn't. Is it?"

Mendez looked to Clementine and then Halsey. Clementine's accusations had piqued his interest.

Halsey was about to deny there being more to the story. But, reluctantly, conceded with a sigh. "Ok. You want to know?"

Clementine, Ruby and Mendez nodded.

"All I'm going to say is: Harvest has been attacked,"

"What!? When?" Clementine exclaimed. All the images she'd seen of Harvest showed a gorgeous green world with two oceans to the north and south of the planet. It even had its own icecaps too. It was a perfect agriculture world and the only habitable one in the Epsilon Indi System. She dread to think about how it may look now.

"Two years ago." Responded Halsey.

"No.." Ruby whispered, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"Why wasn't _I_ told about this?" Mendez shouted, outraged at the sudden knowledge of an attack on a Human colony.

"Because you _didn't need_ to know," Halsey said, turning her head to Mendez. "And you won't find any details about the attack as I have ensured that _no one_ knows until the battle is over."

"You have no right!" Mendez growled.

"I have _every_ right! _Especially_ when _my_ Spartans are there, fighting for the survival of _an entire planet_!" Halsey shouted back at Mendez.

Upon hearing this Mendez blinked. "What?" He whispered, thinking he'd heard wrong.

Calming from her outburst Halsey sighed. "It's a planet wide attack. Red Team were shipped off last year to assist with the fighting."

"Jerome's team?" Clementine asked.

Both Halsey and Mendez nodded.

"But, aren't Jerome, Douglas and Alice washouts?" Ruby inquired.

"They were," Halsey agreed. "But we had them retrained throughout 2526."

There was a tense silence before anyone spoke again.

"No one can know about the attack on Harvest. Do you understand?" Halsey ordered.

"What about the rest of my Fireteam? I can't just leave them in the dark about this!" Protested Clementine.

"I'm sorry, Spartan. But you have to."

Clementine looked away. She hated the idea of hiding something like this from her team.

"Now," Halsey said, gaining everyone's attention. "Back to the matter at hand. Who are you going to pair Minnie with?"


	13. Chapter 13: The Choice

**A/N: Hey, I'm back. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, some stuff happened that I don't wanna talk about. Anyway, sorry to keep you all waiting. I'm doing a double upload today and Saturday, hopefully that should make up for my absence. Thanks for sticking with the story. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 13: The Choice

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2528_

 _12:46 hrs_

 _Ruby's room_

 _"Who are you going to pair Minnie with?"_

That question rattled around in Clementine's mind for a while. She had the important decision of choosing a member from her Fireteam to be paired up with Minnie. An AI. And this AI would essentially live in the brain and suit of whoever she chose. On the bright side, they wouldn't be stuck with each other all day everyday.

She thought about the members in her Fireteam.

There was Marlon. He was one of the best shots she knew with a Sniper. Pairing Minnie with him seemed like a sound idea and a logical one, until realising that in doing so, she would be putting Louis out of a job.

Pairing her with Louis was also a viable option, as she would make it much easier for Louis to call out foes. The problem with this was similar to pairing her with Marlon, in that Louis would be sitting on his hands with very little to do as Minnie would replace Louis in the role of Spotter.

She wasn't sure how Mitch would cope with a voice in his head that wasn't his own. If he found Louis irritating at times, then Minnie would be down right distracting to him. Clementine crossed off Mitch's name mentally. He was an excellent Spartan, they all were, and he had to be the best explosives expert there was, but he needed his focus for a task like that, and Minnie could possibly ruin the focus he had during engagements.

Clementine crossed her name off the list too. She was the leader of her Fireteam and felt that pairing herself with the AI would be unfair. She'd consider getting an implant as backup if something were to go wrong.

That left Violet. Clementine's best friend. They'd gotten closer over the two months Violet had been with them, and she hadn't seen a Spartan with such speed and agility since Kelly from Blue Team. On Harmony, at the beginning of the siege on Firebase Dynamo, she had watched Violet bolt out of the front gates to defend a squad of four Marines that were pinned outside, and single handedly gave them enough time to get inside. Upon falling back herself, Violet had been caught in the blast radius of a grenade a Rebel had thrown, but even that wasn't enough to stop her from getting up and sprinting back inside. She had collapsed as soon as the Firebase doors closed. The grenade's explosion had blown an unhealthy amount of shrapnel at her. Some pieces ricocheted off her armour, whilst others had found asylum both in and under her skin. She'd required surgery to remove them and Ruby had performed the operation alongside a team of medical professionals. Through the rest of the siege, Violet had insisted she partake in defending despite her injuries, even if it was a small support role. She didn't want to feel like a discarded tool that couldn't do anything to help out. Not only that but she remembered how Violet had quickly assumed command whilst she was out of action on their most recent mission. She had to admit, Violet had certainly come a long way since she first met the girl that was recovering from being attacked in the gym.

Her mind was made up.

"Doctor," She said, getting Halsey's attention. "I've made my decision."

A smile appeared on the Doctor's face. "And who have you chosen?" She asked.

"I choose Violet." Clementine replied.

Halsey was pleasantly surprised. She knew Clementine was kind, but she didn't expect her to choose Violet, who was still new to Indigo, relatively speaking.

"And why have you chosen Violet?" Halsey asked, curious as to her reasons behind choosing the blonde.

"She's come a long way since I first met that nervous girl in the firing range." Mendez nodded his agreement. "She even put her life on the line to rescue a squad of four Marines during the siege on Dynamo at Harmony, and she quickly assumed command on our last mission whilst I was down due to a gunshot wound."

Halsey nodded approvingly at Clementine and they all finally left Ruby's room. Upon entering the team's living space they were surprised to see the other members of Indigo sat on the couches talking amongst themselves. Louis then noticed both Clementine and Ruby approaching them with Mendez and Halsey behind them.

"Uh-oh, what did you do wrong this time Clem?" Louis joked.

"Nothing," Halsey replied. "Although she may have changed this team for the better."

"What, really?" Mitch asked, leaning forward. Eager to hear the news.

"Yeah," Clementine nodded. "We've been assigned an AI for _all_ future missions, _and_ were getting new armour too, it's the same as what we have now, just AI compatible. The AI herself seems like she'll fit right in with us too."

" _She_?" Louis exclaimed, getting a quick bark of laughter out of Marlon.

"Problem Louis?" Clementine asked, a smile on her face.

"Not at all." Louis said with a smile. "This'll be awesome."

"Well, here's hoping I don't get babysitting duty." Mitch huffed, leaning back into the couch. He didn't like the idea that he might be paired with the AI, but new and improved armour was something he could get behind.

"Thanks Clem," Marlon said, relaxing more into the corner of the couch he and Mitch were sat on. "But, I've already got a Spotter." He finished, pointing to Louis across from him, who nodded.

"I'm pretty sure Ruby doesn't need someone else telling her what to do either." Louis said playfully.

"He's right Clem," Ruby agreed. "You're bad enough." She teased.

"Ow my heart." Clementine said sarcastically.

Clementine looked to Violet who hadn't said anything that whole time.

"You ok Vi?" She asked, concerned for her friend.

"Hmmm?" Violet hummed, joining the conversation.

"You ok?" Clementine repeated again.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about what it'd be like, having another voice in your head that wasn't your own." Violet responded.

"Distracting?" Mitch guessed. "It'd fucking annoy me, that's for sure."

"Well, let us know what it's like Vi." Clementine said.

"What?" Violet inquired, looking to her friend with a confused expression. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh, you didn't did you? Please tell me you didn't." She pleaded.

"I did." Clementine said, feeling crestfallen at Violet's reaction. She thought her friend would appreciate being chosen to be paired with an AI.

Upon seeing Clementine's crestfallen expression, Violet gave the idea more thought. In reality, accepting the proposal wasn't the end of the world, and, as Clementine had said, the AI 'seems like she'll fit right in'. As for the other voice in her head? She'd adjust, just like she adjusted to being part of a new team and to the life of a Spartan. Sitting up, Violet addressed Clementine.

"I'll do it." She said confidently.

"You will?" The members of Indigo asked.

"Yeah. How bad could it be really?" She asked.

"When do you want to get started?" Doctor Halsey asked.

Looking to the surprised faces of her team, Violet looked back to Halsey with a smirk.

"As soon as possible."


	14. Chapter 14: New and Improved

Chapter 14: New and Improved

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2528_

 _20:51 hrs_

 _Recovery wing_

Clementine sat next to Violet's bed in the recovery wing. She'd been in surgery for three hours getting the Spartan Neural Interface installed onto the base of her skull. This was something that had never been done before and they'd been told to be prepared for the worst even _if_ the surgery was successful. Violet had been laying on the bed in the recovery wing for four hours five minutes and counting. Clementine was starting to worry, she couldn't help it. The girl she was close friends with was laying still, in front of her, breathing shallow and practically dancing with death, and Clementine could do nothing but sit and wait for her to wake up.

Clementine bowed her head, held Violets hand, squeezed it, and closed her eyes, willing her best friend to wake up, to show some sign she was ok and that she would recover. The others had been sat with her but left after two hours, telling her to let them know if and when Violet woke up.

Clementine thought she felt someone squeeze her hand but played it off as her mind trying to reassure her. That was until she felt it again, but firmer this time. Looking up she saw Violet looking at her with a heart-warming smile on her face. Elated that Violet had not only woken up but _survived_ the procedure, Clementine got up and hugged her, surprising both of them. To Clementine's surprise and relief, Violet reciprocated the hug, albeit lightly due to her lack of strength.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Clementine asked, gently leaving the embrace.

"Like someone just pissed about with my skull." Violet responded with a wide smile. "I can't believe I pulled through and survived though." She said, still shocked at the outcome.

Clementine laughed a little. "Yeah, you had me on edge the whole time. When you went in for surgery, I didn't want to say goodbye. It sounded _too_ final. But after three hours waiting here and you still hadn't woken up?" Clementine shook her head. "I was starting to think that maybe I should have."

Violet's green eyes widened in surprise at what Clementine said. She moved some of Clementine's hair back behind her ear with a smile. Both girls blushing at the act.

"You should know by now Clem: You can't kill me. Rebels tried to with a grenade back on Harmony, remember?" She asked, chuckling a little, whilst reassuring her friend.

Clementine smiled at the reassurance and nodded.

Then Louis walked in.

"Clem. How's Vi-" Louis started, only to cut himself off at the sight of one awake Violet. He smiled a relieved smile, walked up to her bed and gave her a hug. "It was cruel to have us worry like that." He scolded jokingly.

"I'm the worst, I know." Violet said, returning the hug. "I'm sorry."

Louis backed out the hug and looked to her. "You have nothing to be sorry about." He said, pointing to her. Then he turned to Clementine. "You however..."

Clementine pointed to herself.

"Yes. You. You said you'd let us know when she woke up." Louis said.

"She _literally_ just woke up." Clementine defended.

Louis looked to Violet for confirmation and she nodded her head.

"Alright." Louis said. "I'll go tell the others."

"Why not call them?" Violet asked.

"Because," Louis began, turning to Violet. "The rest are _finally_ going to see our new and improved armour."

"Didn't you say it's the same as what we have currently, just AI compatible?" Violet asked, turning her head to Clementine.

"I did." She responded.

Violet looked back to Louis. "So what's the rush?" She asked.

"It may be the same Vi, but it doesn't hurt to triple check everything you need is there. That and admire the armour of course." He said with a smile.

"Careful Louis," Violet warned. "If that smile gets any bigger it'll fall off."

Louis chuckled.

"Go on Louis, get out of here. I'll be down later." Clementine said, ushering Louis out.

"It's nice to know I'm wanted." He called as the door closed.

"You're staying?" Violet asked.

"I thought you were never going to wake up, so yeah. Oh, and I have someone who wants to meet you." Clementine said with a smile. She pulled out Minnie's Data Crystal Chip and gave it to Violet. "I've been told to tell you that you _shouldn't_ put that chip into your head _until_ at least twenty-seven hours have passed."

Violet nodded her acknowledgement.

"You're good Minnie." Clementine said to the AI.

The Data Crystal Chips centre lit up and a second later Minnie's avatar appeared, hands behind her back with a relaxed stance, not stood upright like other AI. Minnie waved at Violet, who smiled and weakly waved back.

"My name's Minnie. Service number: MNE 1519-1. But I prefer Minnie." She said, introducing herself to Violet with a smile and putting her hands back behind her.

"Nice to meet you Minnie." Violet said.

"She's adorable, right?" Clementine asked.

"She sure is." Violet agreed. Minnie, in response smiled and shrugged humbly.

"So, I'm Indigo now right?" Minnie asked.

"You sure are." Clementine replied. "Welcome to Fireteam Indigo Minnie."

"Thanks Clem." Minnie said with her smile still in place, feeling comfortable enough to use nicknames now.

"Vi?" Clementine addressed her bed-bound friend.

"Yeah?" Violet responded, turning her attention to Clementine.

"While you were out, the others and I agreed that when-"

"If." Violet corrected

" _When_ you woke up, we agreed that you should become Indigo 2. Considering you have Minnie now."

"Whose Indigo 6 now?" Violet asked.

"Louis was Indigo 2 and he said he'd happily takeover as Indigo 6... and that no thanks were necessary." Clementine informed her.

"I'm going to thank him anyway." Violet said

"Yeah, I told him you'd say that." Clementine said with a chuckle.

"Does that make me Indigo 7?" Minnie asked.

"No Minnie, you're Indigo 2, like Violet."

"Awesome!" Minnie exclaimed, giving a thumbs up with her response.

Violet yawned, still feeling extremely tired.

"Ok Minnie, let's leave Violet to rest." Clementine said in response to her yawn.

"Agreed. Get well soon Violet, I'll see you when you get back." Minnie said, waving goodbye before disappearing.

"See you soon Vi." Clementine said, waving goodbye.

Clementine opened the door to leave the recovery wing.

"Wait!" Violet called, halting Clementine halfway through the door. She then turned to Violet.

"Thanks for being here when I woke up. It _really_ means a lot that you did that." Violet said with a tired smile.

"Anytime." Clementine replied. With a wink as her final goodbye for the night, she left Violet to recover.


	15. Chapter 15: DDTT Part 1

**A/N: As promised, another double upload for all you lovely readers. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 15: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Part 1

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Combat Simulation A-4_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 21, 2528_

 _08:40 hrs_

 _Combat Simulation A-4's armoury_

"Is this a good idea?" Asked Minnie. Violet's new AI companion.

"Hmm? Is what a good idea?" Violet asked Minnie.

" _This_." Minnie emphasised, projecting herself in front of Violet and moving her arms about, referring to where they were and what Violet was preparing for.

Violet turned her attention away from the weapons specifically designed for the Combat Simulation to look at Minnie. "Yeah." She replied with a nod.

"You've been out of recovery for a day, _and_ you've been ordered by both the medical personnel _and_ Clementine, to take it easy for a while until you fully recover from surgery. Going into the Combat Sim is _not_ taking it easy." Minnie reminded Violet.

Violet sighed. "I know Minnie, but I need something to do. Plus, we have _no_ idea on how _we'll_ perform together out in the field. So, why not kill two birds with one stone?" Violet reasoned.

Minnie was about to retort but held back and sighed herself.

"Does anyone else know we're about to do this?" Minnie asked.

"Nope." Replied Violet.

"Not even Clem?"

Violet paused for a few seconds. "...No." She answered hesitantly.

"Vi, your heart rate's increased. What's wrong?" Minnie asked worriedly.

Violet shook her head. "It's nothing." She replied, looking away from Minnie and back to the selection of weapons available to her.

The weapons didn't carry live rounds because they were _only_ used in the Combat Simulation, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt when one hit you, they stung like all hell. Making up her mind, Violet chose a BR55 Service Rifle, M45 Tactical Shotgun and an M6G Magnum. She picked up her helmet and stared at the front for a second before turning it around and putting it on.

"You ready Minnie?" Violet asked.

"As long as you're certain you want to do this." She said, before disappearing from sight.

"Alright, let's do this." Violet said, opening the door to the main floor. As she entered the floor, she made her way over to the console on the wall to her left and set the difficulty to 'Extreme'.

"You know only _one_ team has beaten this difficulty right?" Minnie asked.

"Yeah. And?" Questioned Violet.

"Violet you're one Spartan!" Minnie exclaimed.

"One Spartan with an _AI_." Violet corrected.

"That's not the point!" Minnie cried. "There's no way you'll come out of this unscathed!"

"There's no harm in trying." Said Violet.

"You'll be eating those words soon Vi." Minnie grumbled.

Violet left it at that and confirmed the setting. If she was being honest, she was nervous, and, she had a hunch Minnie knew it too but had decided to stay quiet. That being said, if she and Minnie were going to work together, she had to know how well they'd perform together. Steeleing herself, Violet started the Simulation.

* * *

 _08:50 hrs_

 _Hallway A-6_

Clementine had just returned from a run off-site with Mitch and the pair were making their way back towards their team's living quarters when they noticed a crowd of both Marines and Spartans heading to the direction of Combat Simulation A-4.

"The fuck is everyone going?" Mitch asked Clementine.

"You know what Mitch? That's an excellent question." Clementine replied, giving his shoulder a quick pat before moving to cut off a crowd member.

"Hey! Wait up Clem!" Mitch called after her, moving to catch up with her.

"Hey, hey!" Clementine called, getting the attention of Samantha, S-009.

"What's up?" Samantha asked.

Clementine and Mitch could see she was itching to get moving again.

"What's the rush? Where's everyone going?" Mitch asked, beating Clementine to the question.

"You don't know?" Samantha asked.

Both Mitch and Clementine shook their heads.

"Someone's attempting the Combat Simulation on Extreme!" She exclaimed.

"Wait! Someone? As in singular?" Clementine asked hurriedly.

Samantha nodded excitedly.

"Uh, Clem," Mitch began. "I thi-"

"Oh no, Violet." Clementine whispered, cutting Mitch off. With that said, Clementine ran off in the direction of Combat Simulation A-4.

"Violet?" Mitch asked himself, only for the realisation to come crashing down on him like the M313 Elephant. " _AH FUCK!_ " Mitch shouted.

"What's wrong?" Samantha worried.

"She shouldn't be in there!" Is all Mitch said, before he too, ran off for the Combat Simulation.

* * *

 _08:55 hrs_

 _Combat Simulation A-4 Observatory_

'Move.', 'Excuse me' and 'Coming through.' were some of the words that came from Clementine's mouth as she pushed through the crowd of people to look out the observatory glass.

"Oh no, no, no, no." Clementine worried.

Mitch arrived next to Clementine shortly after and stood looking out the glass in silence.

"Mitch?" Clementine asked.

"What is she doing?" He whispered.

"I don't know, but we need to help her. Simulation or not, she's still recovering from surgery." Clementine stated firmly. Clementine looked at Mitch, who remained still and quiet for a minute.

"What if she's got this?" He asked.

"What?"

"What if she's got this?" He repeated again. "I mean she's got Minnie."

Upon saying this there was an _'Oooo'_ in the crowd around them and Clementine turned her gaze back out the window to see Violet clutch her shoulder in pain and take cover.

"Where's Ruby, Louis and Marlon?" Clementine asked Mitch, voice raised in concern.

"Right here!" Called Louis, making his way through the crowd with Ruby and Marlon to Clementine and Mitch.

"Good, everyone, with me." Clementine ordered.

"Clem, we don't have enough time to armour up and help her." Mitch called after her.

"Did I say anything about armouring up?" Clementine called back.

Mitch blinked. "Ah shit." He sighed.

"Cheer up Mitch," Louis said, walking after Clementine. "This is the craziest thing we'll ever do. Crazy right?"


	16. Chapter 16: DDTT Part 2

Chapter 16: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Part 2

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Combat Simulation A-4_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 21, 2528_

 _08:59 hrs_

 _Combat Simulation A-4's armoury_

"Here." Mitch said, throwing an M45 Tactical Shotgun to Marlon.

Marlon caught it and looked at it then him disbelievingly. "Really Mitch? Talk about throwing me out of my comfort zone." He said.

Mitch looked to the weapon he'd thrown Marlon, then to his. "Ahh, quit bitching Marlon." Mitch sighed, trading his DMR for the Shotgun he'd given to Marlon. "Happy?" He asked.

"Very." Marlon replied, patting Mitch's shoulder as he walked past him and to the door.

Clementine stood in front of the door waiting on Marlon and Mitch.

"You two good?" She asked.

"Besides being seconds away from charging into the Combat Sim with no armour? Yeah. I'm fucking ecstatic." Mitch said to Clementine.

Clementine rolled her eyes.

"We remember the plan, right?" She asked her Fireteam.

"Yeah. We cover Ruby whilst she cancels the Simulation before we all get riddled with fake bullets and sent to the Medbay due to the pain of being riddled with fake bullets." Louis recited.

"Yeah, basically." Clementine nodded. With that said, she turned around and opened the door to the main floor.

* * *

 _Combat Simulation A-4's main floor_

"Vi! Two targets moving on your two o'clock with another on your ten!" Minnie called out, pinging all three targets for Violet.

"Come on!" Violet exclaimed, standing up to engage the two on her right.

She opened fire and took both out, catching a glimpse of the two disintegrating targets as she turned to the left to address her next target. It got three shots off on her before she could face it, then it too, disintegrated. However, Violet didn't take the shot.

"Minnie?" She asked, ducking back down behind cover, her front facing the object she was hiding behind and breathing heavily.

"I don't know what happened." Minnie responded.

"I do." Came a familiar voice behind her.

Violet paused for a full five seconds, suddenly registering the increase in gunfire that wasn't due to more simulated enemies spawning.

"Ah shit," She whispered. Violet turned around to face the new arrival, slumping down on the floor with her back resting against her cover. "Clem I-"

"Don't wanna hear it." Clementine said, raising her hand and cutting her off.

Violet sat in place, head down, body in immense pain from all the hits she'd taken during her time in the Simulation, and her heart hurting from the look on her friends face. A minute later the gunfire stopped and she heard Ruby notify them that the Simulation had been cancelled.

"Violet, your heart rate has increased once again. Are you sure you're ok?" Minnie asked as she projected herself before Violet and Clementine.

"She's fine Minnie," Clementine said. "She's just nervous."

Minnie looked away from Violet to look at Clementine.

Clementine crouched down to same level as Violet. "Minnie, could you..." Clementine trailed off.

Minnie looked between the two, nodded and vanished to respect Clementine's unasked request.

"You two good?" Mitch asked, standing behind Clementine.

"Could I get back to you on that?" Clementine asked.

Mitch nodded and ushered the rest of Indigo out of the main room.

Violet removed her helmet, her face hiding behind her blonde hair.

"Why?" Clementine asked her. "Why'd you do... _this_?" She emphasised, indicating to the whole room with her hand.

Violet didn't answer at first and Clementine waited patiently for her answer.

"Because..." Violet started, still looking to the floor. "Because I wanted to find out how well Minnie and I could perform as a team. Just the two of us. I wanted to prove to you - and myself - that you made the right choice in choosing to pair me with Minnie. But I fear I've done the exact opposite, and proven why you _shouldn't_ have paired her with me. I was irresponsible, I should've waited until I'd fully recovered and gone in with you and everyone else. I put myself at risk in trying to prove you'd made the right call." Violet said dejectedly.

Minnie appeared in front of the two, only to disappear and reappear on her Chip that Violet had removed.

Violet held the Chip out to Clementine. "I understand if you want or have to pair her with someone else." Violet whispered.

"What?! Violet! NO!" Minnie protested, looking desperately at Violet, almost willing herself back into her head.

"Violet," Clementine began, taking the Chip out of her hands, much to the displeasure of Minnie. Clementine sighed. "You have proven exactly why I _chose_ you."

"What?" Both Minnie and Violet asked in disbelief, the latter finally looking up.

Clementine chuckled and leaned around Violet to put Minnie back into her head. Violet blushed intensely at the close proximity between the two of them. But instead of fighting it, she let it bloom across her face like a badge of honour.

Minnie's avatar appeared in front of them once again wearing a smile and much happier than she was a few seconds ago.

Clementine retreated away a little from Violet and smiled, a blush on her own face too. "Now, don't get me wrong, I'm far from impressed with what you did today. _But_ , you have come a long way, and that's one of the reasons why I chose you. The other reason why I chose you – but didn't specify – is because you're responsible, and that you will admit to doing something wrong... even if it isn't a verbal admission." Clementine said, getting a chuckle from Violet.

"It's my eyes," Violet said. "They say everything."

"And they show everything too." Clementine added.

When Violet looked at her in confusion, Clementine chuckled, stood up and offered Violet her hand to help her up.

Violet accepted it gratefully and the three of them headed out of the Simulation to go back to their quarters, with Violet breaking away to first remove her armour.


	17. Chapter 17: Lost Contact

**A/N: There are some things I should make clear to y'all, before you go reading. 1. Pelicans from 2525 - 2554** ** _didn't_** **have built in slipspace drives as they were the D77-TC (introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved and also seen in Halo: Reach), D77H-TCI (introduced in Halo 3) and the D77C-NMPD (Pelican used by New Mombasa Police Department in Halo 3: ODST), the D81-LRT (Halo 4) or Condor (Fat Pelican/Super Pelican) had a slipspace drive installed. 2. Arcadia's distance from Reach is guess work. 3. One of the first things you'll notice is that the story has jumped ahead one year, and, if any of you are wanting a little more on the events at Harmony, you'll be glad to know I** ** _will_** **be putting more on that in as a flashback or something else entirely. Anywho, I'm dummy tired, so I apologise if I forgot to add anything to the Author's Notes. I hope you enjoy and I'll see you in the next chapter. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 17: Lost Contact

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 19, 2529_

 _07:25 hrs_

 _Firing range_

Four perfect shot buzzers went off in quick succession, followed up by another three shots and buzzers. Clementine lowered her weapon and looked to her right where Violet stood. She watched as she fired another three shots which were followed up by the perfect shot buzzer once again.

"You know," Clementine began, laying the DMR she was using on the counter and removing her helmet. "Ever since you got Minnie last year I can't help but notice how you've beaten me every month by only a few points." She said with a smile on her face.

Violet lowered her DMR down too, removed her helmet and faced Clementine with a smile of her own. "I don't know what you're talking about." Violet said, acting innocent.

Minnie's avatar appeared too. "What she said." Minnie chuckled a little, pointing to Violet.

"Oh, and happy birthday Minnie." Clementine congratulated.

"Yeah, happy birthday Minnie." Violet said to her AI companion.

Minnie smiled brilliantly at them both. "One year old! Go me!" She cheered.

Clementine shook her head with a smile. Minnie had quickly become a well loved member of Fireteam Indigo, and with her help, any data extraction/recovery missions they were assigned went along far smoother than they did originally. Not to mention her assistance in combat was invaluable. Five months after Minnie was paired with Violet, Clementine made the decision to also have a Spartan Neural Interface implanted too, just in case a situation arose where Violet needed to hand Minnie over to someone.

Minnie on her part had quickly grown accustomed to how Indigo acted both during missions and off duty, and had adjusted accordingly. She thought highly of Indigo and had formed strong relationships with all of them. Her strongest being with Violet as they shared the same head space. There had been a podium installed into Violet's room specifically for Minnie so she could watch over Violet as she slept and wake her up if the situation ever arose. Minnie had to admit, being in the presence of both Violet and Clementine was a calming one. It was clear to her the two were developing feeling for the other, and if not _developing_ , then they had certainly _developed_ feelings for one another. But they had not yet acted on them. Minnie had decided to stay out of their personal matters and allow them to progress in their own time.

The intercom around the base suddenly exploded to life, startling Violet, Clementine and even Minnie.

 _'Fireteams Indigo and Unity are to report to the Briefing Room_ immediately _. I repeat. Fireteams Indigo and Unity are to report to the Briefing Room_ immediately _.'_

"Déjà vu?" Clementine asked.

"Yes and no." Violet responded, turning to her friend. "Sounds more serious than last time. Plus, I didn't have 'an itty bitty outburst' did I?" Violet asked with a smirk.

Clementine laughed. "Very true. C'mon let's move."

* * *

 _07:29 hrs_

 _Briefing Room_

"Good Spartans, you're here." CPO Mendez said, addressing both Spartan Fireteams as they entered.

"Sir, what's going on?" Clementine inquired.

"We've lost contact with a heavily defended research facility on Arcadia." Doctor Halsey informed them, walking into the light of the image that she projected for them.

"When was contact lost Ma'am?" Mason, S-004, asked.

"Since last night at 26:50. We haven't heard from them since."

"Then why send us out there now?" Mitch asked. A few nodding heads agreed with him.

"Because it was nothing but rumours at first. And I don't like wasting Spartans or fuel on nothing but rumours." Halsey replied.

"What's our mission Ma'am?" Clementine asked.

"Clementine, because your Fireteam has an AI, Indigo is tasked with recovering _any_ research you can find or salvage. Any you can't, you destroy." Halsey ordered them, earning salutes and 'yes Ma'am' as acknowledgement.

She then looked to Unity. "Unity, you are to search the area for survivors and for who may have attacked this station. Any evidence you find, log it. Understood?"

Another round of salutes and 'yes Ma'am' followed.

"Excuse me, CPO Mendez, Sir?" Minnie asked, her avatar materialising in front of everyone.

"Go ahead Minnie." CPO Mendez acknowledged her.

"How are the Fireteams getting to Arcadia? Reach is 10.5 Light Years away from Earth and our current Pelicans can only _just_ make that jump safely. But Arcadia is approximately 30 Light Years away from Reach, and I highly doubt they'll make that jump at all." Minnie inquired.

Mendez smiled at the AI. "A good question Minnie." He said, to which, Minnie smiled and shrugged in response. "To answer that: there are two Pelicans waiting outside. One on Landing pad A-1 and another on A-6. Indigo, you have A-1, Unity you're A-6. Once onboard, the pilots will take you up to the UNSC _Pillar of Autumn_ , a Halcyon-class light cruiser. She will be your chariot into the Procyon system, Spartans; the Pelicans that take you to the _Autumn_ will also take you planetside, the rest will be up to you." Mendez informed both teams.

"Any more questions?" Asked Halsey.

The room remained silent.

"Then move it Spartans! Double time!" Barked Mendez.

The Spartan Fireteams chanted 'Sir. Yes Sir' before marching out for their designated Pelicans. On the way to the Pelicans, Clementine couldn't help but feel like she knew _what_ attacked the base. She discarded that thought, if it were true, then the whole planet would've gone dark, not just the research station.

"Hey," Violet said, shaking Clementine's shoulder, getting her attention. "What's wrong? Minnie said she got some weird readings off you for a second."

Clementine looked to the concerned emerald eyes of her friend and smiled weakly. "I'm not sure what we're going to find on Arcadia, and the fact that we _don't_ know what happened is even worse."

Violet smiled gently at Clementine and wrapped her arm around her waist, giving her a hug from the side. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it. We've got Minnie too don't forget, she'll help us however possible. Right?" Violet reassured her.

Minnie popped up in front of Clementine and gave her a thumbs up.

Clementine chuckled. "Yeah, ok. We got this." She conceded.

"Good," Violet said, squeezing Clementine and ruffling the top of her head. "Because we're coming home in one piece." Violet reassured her.

Clementine smiled a full smile this time. Violet's confidence in the mission and their safe return boosted her morale. "Let's go." She said, turning to Violet. "Don't wanna keep the boys and Ruby waiting, do we?"

Violet smiled at her friend. The two fist-bumped before both running off to catch up with the rest of their team and board their Pelicans.


	18. Chapter 18: Pillar of Autumn

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I'm trying to get into the routine of working on a schedule. I'm not going to stop with this story, but, uploads may not be as consistent as they used to be. This is because I have more stories I want to write and I do need at least** ** _some_** **time to myself. If all goes well, you peeps may have another story and possibly** ** _stories_** **to look forward to if you're enjoying my work so far. After playing** ** _Anthem_** **I've had an idea to continue the story of my character a few weeks after the end of the game, so there's a little sneak-peek at my next story I want to do. Now that that's out of the way, some notes on this chapter: 1. The** ** _Pillar of Autumn's_** **measurements and weight can be found on Halopedia. 2. When on a ship or different planet 'Reach Time' is the current time on Reach (if Reach and a planet have the same timezone 'Reach Time' won't be included). 3. Fiona is an OC (felt like the** ** _Autumn_** **needed and AI (but maybe that was obvious)). Finally: If you guys would like longer chapters I'll try do that, but if you're happy with how long they are now, I'll continue with that (although the series of chapters that begin on chapter 25 are going to be longer than the ones so far for a reason). We are getting close to where** ** _I_** **am with this story (as I did write out a lot of chapters before uploading on here), which means chapters** ** _may_** **take a little longer to get out too.** ** _But!_** **Thank you very much for reading and sticking with it, I sincerely hope you are indeed enjoying it so far. The next chapter is going to be dedicated to the man behind the 'Keyes Loop', I think it's a little shorter than the rest but I wanted it in nonetheless. Sorry about the long A/N, just wanted to put everything out there so you know what's going on. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 18: Pillar of Autumn

 _Pillar of Autumn_

 _In orbit above Reach_

 _April 19, 2529_

 _07:44 hrs Reach time_

 _Pillar of Autumn Mess Hall_

It had been a ten minute journey to the _Autumn_ , but when it came into view from the Pelican, it was a sight to behold. She ship was _huge_. At 1,171 meters (3,840 ft) in Length, 352 meters (1,150 ft) in Width, 398 meters (1,310 ft) in Height and weighing _9 million metric tons_ , calling her _huge_ may have been a bit _too_ tame. She was _magnificent!_ As the two Pelicans came in for landing, the _Autumn's_ Captain: Jacob Keyes, had greeted them in person and shown them the essential tour of the ship – mainly the Mess Hall, Bridge, Armoury and where the teams would be staying for the next two days. After the tour, both Fireteams headed towards the Mess Hall for food, however, both teams chose to sit apart from each other out of habit.

"The _Autumn_ is insane!" exclaimed Louis.

"I agree," Mitch said, taking a bite of food. "I'm impressed."

"She's fucking gorgeous." Said Violet, admiring the smooth and shiny silver walls, beams and tables that decorated the Mess.

Minnie appeared in front of them all; sat down on the table. She too was admiring everything about the _Autumn_.

"Don't forget the Bridge." Clementine said in awe.

"Guys, we so need to visit the Bridge!" Louis exclaimed once more.

"I have to say, I agree with Louis." Said Ruby.

"Me too." Agreed Marlon.

"Can't believe I'm saying this but: me three." Mitch sighed.

 _'This is Captain Jacob Keyes to all hands, our next top is the planet Arcadia in the Procyon system. Prepare for slip-space jump in ten minutes, the current time is 07:46. Both Spartan Fireteams are welcome on the Bridge for the jump, just don't be late. Keyes, Out.'_

Louis looked to his team when the warning finished. "I know an invitation when I hear one." He said with a smirk.

"Too right mate," Mason, Unity 1 said. "Don't wanna miss a sight like that." With that, he and his team left for the Bridge.

"Is the Bridge big enough for two whole teams of six Spartans and an AI?" Marlon asked, teasing Minnie a little.

"I don't know, you guys might have to wait outside, I do take up _a lot_ of space." Minnie said, playing along.

"Well, I'm not waiting to find out." Mitch said, standing up and going after them.

"Well in that case..." Louis trailed off, getting up to follow Mitch.

Ruby and Marlon stood too.

"You three coming?" Ruby asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Violet said, standing up.

"Wooooo!" Minnie cheered as Violet stood.

"Cl-"

"I'm definitely coming, I _refuse_ to miss something like this." Clementine said, not giving Violet any time to say her name.

"Let's hurry it up then, just in case." Marlon warned, as the rest of Indigo set off toward the Bridge.

* * *

 _07:55 hrs Reach time_

 _Pillar of Autumn's Bridge_

The five arrived on the Bridge where Fireteam Unity, Mitch and Louis were waiting for the jump. At the sound of footsteps Louis turned to face them.

" _Finally!_ " He cried. "Didn't think you'd make it in time, the Captain's got a schedule to keep."

"Good to see you again Spartans." Keyes said, walking up besides them to oversee last minute preparations. "Fiona?" He asked.

"Yes Captain?" The ship's onboard AI displayed herself on a small podium to the Captain's right.

"Our course set?" Keyes asked the AI.

"Aye Sir. Coordinates locked, slip-space drive's eager and our engines are on fire. Ready on your mark." Fiona responded with a thick Scottish accent.

"Excellent. Initiate countdown." Keyes ordered. "You Spartans might want to keeps your eyes up front. It's quite the sight." The Captain suggested to the two Fireteams.

"This is Fiona," For everyone on the Bridge, Fiona's voice could be heard both on and off the Bridge. "Entering slip-space in 3. 2. 1."

As the Spartans looked out of the main window, they saw the beginning of the slip-space jump. The empty space in front of them tore open into the shape of a circle, a black hole big enough to fit the _Autumn_ through appeared with glowing bright blue lights around the outside of the hole. Once the Ship entered they were greeted by a blue tunnel that appeared to spin endlessly.

"Alright Spartans, it'll take us two days to reach Arcadia, so, you do whatever you do in your spare time. I'll notify you all when we've arrived." The Captain dismissed them in a rather laid back fashion that was a relative breath of fresh air from the other more strict members of the UNSC.

Fireteam Indigo opted to familiarise themselves with the _Autumn_ , in case they were ever assigned on her again. They even got to know some crew members and learnt more about what it was like living on the ship. Minnie practically had a field day with observing a slip-space jump and all the new information she learnt about the ship and life on a ship. With there not being much to do on the _Autumn_ , some members of Indigo decided to keep their skills sharp, bond with the crew or just spend time with each other. After two days, they finally arrived at the Procyon system.


	19. Chapter 19: The Captain and his Ship

**A/N: This is mainly a filler. I wanted a little more on Keyes, as we didn't get to know much about him in the games (but they fleshed him out a little more in the books and other material). Not sure when the next update will be, but as I said previously, I'm not stopping with the story. The information on Miranda was gathered off of Halopedia. So, with that said and done, I'll see you planetside for the next chapter. -LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 19: The Captain and his Ship

 _Pillar of Autumn_

 _Procyon system_

 _Approaching the planet Arcadia_

 _April 21, 2529_

 _23:11 hrs Reach time_

 _Pillar of Autumn Bridge_

Captain Jacob Keyes – Service Number: 01928-19912-JK – stood on the Bridge of his Ship, staring out at the Earth like world of Arcadia and sighed. The sight of it made him think of home.

"Captain? Captain?" Fiona asked, trying to get his attention.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Fiona, I... spaced out. Did you need something?" Keyes asked his Ship's AI.

"We'll have arrived at Arcadia in approximately five minutes. Do you want me to alert Fireteams Indigo and Unity?" She asked.

"Yes please, thank you Fiona."

 _'This is Fiona to Spartan Fireteams Indigo and Unity, you have ten minutes to gear up and assemble in Hangar Bay E-5; you will head to Arcadia on my say so. I repeat. Ten minutes to prepare. Don't be late ladies and gents.'_

"Captain? Are you feeling ok? You look like you've seen a ghost." Fiona asked after a slight pause, concerned for her Captain.

Keyes looked to the orange avatar of Fiona: A young girl with medium length brown hair, a black UNSC Naval uniform on with the UNSC Navy emblem on one arm and the standard UNSC emblem on the other. She also had her own nameplate on the left side of her uniform which even had her name on for the sake of detailing.

"I'm fine Fiona, just feeling rather homesick is all." He told her.

"You miss Earth, don't you?" She asked.

Keyes nodded. "Reach also. I haven't set foot on either in a long time."

"What's it like? Earth?" The AI inquired.

Keyes chuckled. "I can barely remember myself Fiona. But I can tell you it's beautiful. I remember reading through news articles from 500 odd years ago, and I can safely say that Earth was quite possibly the biggest shithole in the Galaxy." He said with a light laugh that also got one out of Fiona too.

"You'll see them both again someday Sir." She said to him with a smile.

"I know Fiona, I have to. I have a daughter back on Reach." He said.

"You do?" Fiona asked. "What's her name?"

"Miranda. Miranda Halsey." He said with a smile, now thinking about his daughter.

"Halsey, as in Doctor Catherine Halsey?" Fiona whispered.

"Her mother." Keyes confirmed.

"Wow. And how old is Miranda?"

"She turned four in February. She was born February 28, 2525."

"You must miss her."

"I do. Every damn day. But I do what I do for her, so I can see her again one day."

"You _will_ see her again Sir, I'll do _everything_ I can to ensure that." Fiona reassured.

"I know I will; thank you, Fiona." Acknowledged Keyes.

"Anytime Captain. Anytime."


	20. Chapter 20: Arcadia's Silent Facility

**A/N: I'm back with Chapter 20! This one** ** _may_** **be a little longer than the others, but I'm not sure. As usual before we go on, I need to make somethings about this chapter clear first. 1. The information on Arcadia is correct and can be found on Halo Nation and even Halopedia, BUT, the year in which Arcadia was established/colonised was 2529 not 2527. It's only 2527 for story reasons. 2.** ** _Paradise_** **and** ** _Artemis_** **are my own locations for Arcadia, whereas** ** _Pirth City_** **and** ** _Caledonia_** **are actual locations on Arcadia. 3. Because we don't know the time zone for Arcadia, I have gone with Arcadia being one hour behind Reach. Hope you enjoy, chapter 22 was my favourite one to write (so much so that I was physically shaking whilst writing it) so I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Have a good day/afternoon/evening and I'll see you all on the flip side. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 20: Arcadia's Silent Facility

 _Pillar of Autumn_

 _Procyon system_

 _In orbit of the planet Arcadia_

 _April 21, 2529_

 _23:21 hrs Reach time_

 _Pillar of Autumn's Hangar Bay E-5_

"Minnie, can you access and records on Arcadia?" Violet asked.

"I can indeed. Whatcha need to know?" Minnie replied chirpily.

"Details on Arcadia itself would be a great place to start Minnie." Clementine said, coming up to stand next to Violet.

"Coming right up. Ok so: Arcadia is a tropical planet with many jungles, it's considered a resort world and even has many farms on the planet. Established in 2527 it's capitol is Pirth City. Arcadia also has three orbital elevators and has a population of 2,998,230 as of January this year. It has a breathable atmosphere and a gravity of approximately 1.02 G, very similar to Earth's 1 G. Arcadia has a diameter of 8,090 miles or 13,020 km." Minnie informed them, she'd also caught the attention of the remaining members of Indigo and even Unity.

"Can you get anything on the attack on the research facility that was hit?" Violet asked, who received an approving nod from Clementine.

"Umm. I think there's som- ahah! Found something." She cheered, cutting herself off. "Ok, I found the location of the facility. It's rather secluded, not surprised there was nothing but rumours first. ANYWAY! It's located in _Paradise_ , which is about 5km away from the nearest town, which would be _Artemis_. Other than that, there isn't much here... BUT the report _does_ say that the Rebels _did_ attempt an attack at 12:30 hrs Reach time on April, 18, however, that attack failed, and _another_ attack took place at..." Minnie paused, and reread the information three times thinking she'd misread.

"Minnie? We need to know." Clementine said, verbally nudging the AI.

"Well that can't be right." Minnie muttered to herself.

"Minnie!" Violet called, regaining the attention of the puzzled AI. "What 'can't be right'?" Violet asked.

"The time of the second attack." Minnie said, looking rather worried, which began to worry the rest of the Spartans.

"Hey little one, we kinda need to know." Mason, Unity 1, encouraged.

Minnie sighed. "The second attack started at 26:40 hrs Reach time."

"So?" Mitch asked.

" _We lost contact at 26:50 Reach time!_ " Minnie emphasised. The realisation suddenly coming to the other Spartans.

"That means..." Ruby trailed off.

"The attack took _ten_ minutes." Marlon finished.

Violet and Clementine looked to each other with worried expressions.

"Who could cause a heavily defended research facility to fall and go dark within ten minutes?" Louis asked.

Suddenly, Fiona's voice came over intercom.

 _'Alright Spartans, deployment is a go! Get to your dropships and prepare for take-off!'_

"Well Louis, guess we get to find out personally." Mitch said, as he moved up the ramp and into the Pelican, followed shortly after by the remaining members of Indigo.

 _'Unity 1 to Indigo 1. We're ready for lift off. How copy?'_ Mason called over the shared COMM.

"This is Indigo 1, solid copy Unity 1. Prepare to follow us out." Clementine responded, then she turned to Violet. "Violet, can I take Minnie up front?" She asked.

Violet nodded her confirmation, removed Minnie's Chip and handed her to Clementine.

"Thanks Vi." Clementine said. She turned around and entered the Pelican cockpit and seated herself in the co-pilot seat. "Ok Minnie, give us the coordinates to the facility." Clementine instructed, inserting her Chip into the co-pilot's control panel.

"Coordinates locked Clem." Minnie informed her after a few seconds.

"Coordinates on screen." Notified the pilot.

"Take us out." Clementine ordered.

* * *

 _Planet Arcadia_

 _Continent of Caledonia_

 _Paradise_

 _5km away from nearest town: Artemis_

 _22:36 hrs (23:36 hrs Reach time)_

 _Attacked research facility_

The Pelicans came into landing a few meters away from the facility, their engines violently blew the relatively long grass about wildly. Clementine removed Minnie's Chip and exited the cockpit, handing her back to Violet as she went passed – their fingers lingering for a few seconds before Clementine exited the Pelican. Both Fireteams exited their respective Pelican to see the heavily damaged facility in front of them. Each Fireteam member activated their newly installed helmet flash lights and saw that the facility was in awful shape. The outer concrete walls had been blown up or out right smashed through. The once white facility building was peppered with burn and scorch marks, ranging from big and small. There were, however, no bodies. No scientists, researchers or guards. It looked abandoned.

Mitch whistled. "Well... this is _really_ fuckin' weird." He said, moving up to inspect the walls. "Yup. Really fuckin' weird."

"What is?" Mason asked moving up behind Mitch and ordering his Fireteam to investigate the area in front of them.

"This," Mitch said, running his hand over the edge of where the wall used to be a whole wall. "This wasn't caused by and explosion, nor was it caused by a Scorpion Tank OR a Warthog."

"How can you tell?" Marlon asked, moving up to Mitch also.

"Well, because obvious answer A. being it's too fucking _small_ to be a Scorpion Tank and answer B. being a Warthog can't break through a wall this thick. But what's even _weirder_ is that from the way the wall's broken, no explosive did this either. It's like it was broken through."

"You mean like _someone_ physically broke through that wall?" Ruby asked.

Mitch shook his head. "No, I mean _something_ broke through this wall."

Then, just like a cliché moment in a film, it began to rain, with the occasional thunder clap and flash of lightening.

"And, queue the ominous music." Louis joked.

"Not funny Louis." Clementine said. "Alright, we have our orders. Let's get in there and get this over with as soon as possible." She commanded. She watched her HUD as five status lights turned green.

"Guys, I hate to say this, but this building has no power at _all_." Minnie said over the shared COMM between Indigo and Unity.

"Thanks little one." Mason praised.

"It's Minnie." She huffed.

"Thanks Minnie." Violet applauded. "Where would we be without you?" She asked.

"No where fun." She responded, as Indigo entered though the main doors.

"You mean to say this is fun?" Louis whispered over Indigo's private channel.

"Yeah." Minnie answered. "Haunted houses always looked exciting in those old vids way back when."

"Funny, you pronounce 'terrifying' differently than I do."

"Please focus you two." Clementine asked.

Indigo eventually came to a cross junction constructed of burnt white hallways, with the odd spatter of blood painting them. The rain storm outside had increased quite a bit whilst they'd been walking in the dark, with the only light source in front of them thanks to their flash lights.

"Well this is shit." Mitch said, lowing his BR55 and sighing.

"We have no choice but to split up." Ruby said, next to Mitch. "C'mon you, we'll go right." She said, giving Mitch a nudge to get moving.

"Careful, I'll make you take point if you keep this up." Mitch teased.

Ruby gave him a playful shove. "I'm the medic, you're not. That makes _you_ expendable, therefore _you_ take point." She teased back.

"Jesus Ruby, put the claws away." Mitch said, his voice getting quieter the farther they went from the group.

"Well, Louis and I will go straight. Let you know if we find anything." Marlon said, moving forward with Louis.

"That means us three get left." Clementine stated.

* * *

 _With Louis and Marlon – 5 minutes after splitting up. Current Location: Unknown._

The pair had begun to pass a lot more scorch marks and blood as they walked. They even took note of the few bodies they'd passed, and how their injuries looked to have burn marks and different sized cauterised holes.

"Louis, none of these injuries match _any_ UNSC weapons." Marlon told his friend.

"As Mitch said, this is fucking weird." Louis whispered.

The two turned right to see windows lining the wall on their left. Heading over they could only just make out what could have been a small research lab. Marlon backed away from the window and noticed a door that looked like it lead into the room they were outside. He elbowed Louis on the arm and pointed to the door. Louis nodded and they made their way down the dark corridor until they reached the door. It was a door that split in two down the middle to open, meaning it would be easy to pry open.

"You know there's no power right?" Louis asked.

"I know. Help me open this manually." He said, finding a gripping point on the right side of the door whilst Louis shook his head and did the same with the left.

"On three?" Louis asked.

"On three." Marlon confirmed. "One. Two. Three."

With a heave the duo forced the door open to reveal the pitch black lab.

"Hm, atmospheric." Louis commented.

There was the sound of clattering and what sounded like the patter of feet and the squawk of a bird coming from down the hallway they'd yet to progress down.

"Ok, a bit _too_ atmospheric." Louis corrected.

"Yeah, no way I'm going in there," Marlon said, pointing into the dark lab. "And leaving by back exposed to whatever is out _there_."

"Agreed," Louis said. "Have fun guarding the door then." Louis whispered quickly, rushing into the lab and leaving Marlon to guard the door.

Marlon just stared at where Louis had been standing before sighing in frustration. "Clem? We have a problem." Marlon whispered over their COMM.

 _'Go ahead Marlon, what's wrong.'_ Clementine replied almost instantly.

"There's something in here with us."


	21. Chapter 21: Broken Unity

**A/N: Hey, so, here I am again with another chapter, but, more importantly, a double upload! It's better to upload them together, instead of doing one and delaying the other (plus, they're best read together anyway). Not much else to say really except I hope you enjoy, and I'll see you all soon. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 21: Broken Unity

 _Attacked Research Facility_

 _Planet Arcadia_

 _Continent of Caledonia_

 _Paradise_

 _5km away from nearest town: Artemis_

 _22:59 hrs (23:59 Reach time)_

 _With Clementine, Violet and Minnie – Current location: Unknown_

"What do you mean 'there's something in here with us'?" Clementine whispered loudly.

 _'I mean we're not alone in here Clementine.'_ Marlon whispered, worry evident in his voice.

"We're going to push on. Stay alert and come to us when you're done, contact Mitch and Ruby to stop what their doing and regroup with us." Clementine ordered.

 _'Sure Boss.'_ With that, the line went silent.

"Stay alert you two." Clementine warned Violet and Minnie.

Violet nodded, and they continued forward.

The trio carefully advanced through the facility for another 15 minutes until they came across a large open room.

"Shit!" Whispered Violet. "What the fuck is this?" She asked.

"I don't know but there seems to be no cover at all." Observed Clementine.

"We should probably wait for the others," Minnie suggested. "They're about ten minutes away." She informed them.

"Agre-"

The sound of clattering and the crash of something heavy toppling over came from the room in front of them.

The pair shone their lights into the large room, only for the thick darkness to fight off the light. They looked to each other, nodded and carefully entered the room together. The _'thump'_ of what could only be described as a large, heavily armoured foot came from in front of them, followed by the glow of lights on what looked like the head of a large hammer. Raising both their BR55's in the direction of the lights, they heard a deep throaty laugh, and the sound of a rolling helmet. Clementine and Violet looked to the floor and stared in horror at a destroyed bronze visor of a white Mark IV helmet with a severed head still inside.

 _"Unity."_ Said a deep rough voice, followed by more throaty laughter. As those words were uttered, there was the sound of 'squawking' and the clattering of five more helmets falling from above to lay around the first.

It quickly registered with the two girls that Fireteam Unity hadn't made it out alive.

Then the voice and floating lights stepped out into the light of their flash lights. In front of them, stood a 9 ft ape like creature with almost tribal like armour and helmet, a giant two-handed hammer like weapon with lights glowing on what could only be the head of a hammer, and a giant blade positioned behind the hammer. The Ape had – from appearances alone – thick grey skin, a shaven face and sharp fangs protruding from its bottom jaw.

The Spartans took a few steps back from the imposing force in front of them. Even in armour, the Ape easily towered over them.

"Guys, we should probably leave. _NOW!_ " Minnie shouted, urging them to get out while they still could.

"No chance Minnie, whatever this is, we need to take it out." Clementine said.

The Ape laughed at them. "Fools. You can't hope to defeat me. You'll regret not leaving when you had the CHANCE!" With a shout and a roar, the Ape raised its hammer above its head and prepared to strike.


	22. Chapter 22: Fractured Indigo

Chapter 22: Fractured Indigo

 _Attacked Research Facility_

 _Planet Arcadia_

 _Paradise_

 _5km away from nearest town: Artemis_

 _23:17 hrs (24:17 hrs Reach time)_

 _Immediately after contact with the Ape like creature_

The Ape brought the hammer down with incredible force and speed. As it connected with the floor, there was a bright flash and a distorted _'boom'_ as both Spartans were lifted off the floor. The Ape followed up by kicking Clementine as she came down to the ground, sending her flying a small distance down the hallway they arrived from.

Violet fell to the floor on her back with a _'clunk'_. She watched as the hammer came closer to her face in slow-motion.

" _MOVE!_ " Minnie screamed in her head.

Upon hearing the sudden helpless cry from Minnie, Violet rolled out of the way and got to her feet at such a speed that would've made Kelly from Blue Team proud. Aiming her BR55, Violet fired twelve shots into the Ape, only for it to continue walking towards her.

Clementine heard the gunshots and got up as fast as possible and ran for the 9 ft monstrosity. Reaching its back, she jumped and latched herself onto its back. It stopped advancing and shook itself wildly to detach the Spartan clinging onto its back like a Tick latches onto an unsuspecting victim.

Having seen Clementine jump onto it's back, Violet stowed her weapon, unsheathed her knife and ran for the Ape. Thrusting the blade to it's waist, embedding the blade into its skin. The Ape let out a feral roar, and dropped its weapon. Violet went to remove the blade, only for the Ape to hit her visor with the back of its hand, cracking it slightly, to then violently reverse into a wall, catching Clementine between it's strong back and the wall. Clementine let out a pained cry and the Ape walked forward, letting Clementine drop to her knees.

Violet looked to Clementine, the Ape and then its weapon. Deciding to give picking it up an go, she went over to it, clamped her hands down onto the handle and lifted, her armour assisting greatly in holding it. She smirked behind the helmet and turned to the shocked expression of the Ape. Once it recovered, it charged towards her at a frightening pace.

"Batter up, bitch." She quipped, swinging the hammer like a baseball bat and hitting the Ape centre mass with the head of the hammer.

With another distorted _'boom'_ , the hammer sent the Ape flying into a wall at a great speed. The satisfying sound of the Ape impacting with the wall filled the room. Clementine recovered and made her way next to Violet.

"That... was awesome! Excellent work!" Clementine congratulated.

"It was nothing." Violet responded with a shrug.

"Hey, hey. What the hell happened here?" Louis called from the hallway, followed by the rest of Indigo as they entered the room the girls were stood in. "And what's with _ugly_ there?" He asked pointing to the slumped figure of the Ape.

"Violet here," Clementine began, putting her arm around her and pulling her in close. "Just kicked the ass of... whatever _that_ is." She said, also pointing to the Ape.

"I couldn't have done it without my two favourite girls." Violet said, thanking Clementine and Minnie together.

"More importantly, what happened here?" Ruby asked, crouching down next to the severed heads of Fireteam Unity.

"Unity didn't make it." Clementine said solemnly.

The sound of a deep groaning filled the air. Fireteam Indigo turned to look at the Ape stand up at full height and spit out a mouthful of blood.

"You'll pay for that." It growled.

"Ok Indigo, prepare for round two." Clementine ordered.

Then, like an army of angry rats, the sound of pattering feet began to invade the air around them. Out of the darkness, bird like creatures, about the hight of your average human, piled into the room.

Indigo stood back to back, surrounded and out numbered by an unknown alien enemy. Minnie analysed the situation quickly and created a battle plan for them.

"Mitch, Ruby, Marlon and Louis. You deal with the freaky bird creatures. Clem and Vi, you deal with tall, grey and ugly." Minnie instructed.

Six lights blinked green for her and she smiled.

"Go get 'em." Minnie ordered.

Just like that, the six Spartans sprang to life. Four going to deal with the bird creatures and two going in for a rematch against the Ape.

Clementine and Violet launched themselves in the air and towards the Ape to deliver a devastating punch, only to be batted away like flies. The Ape made a run for its hammer and picked it up, turning to face the two girls it was in combat with. Those said girls, both equipped their BR55's and opened fire. Some shots impacted with the skin, others impacted the armour and bounced off harmlessly. The Ape jumped high into the air towards them and slammed the hammer onto the ground again, this time, sending them flying backwards. Standing up, they stowed their weapons once more and charged the Ape which swung its weapon in a horizontal arc in front of itself. Clementine slid under, unsheathed her knife and stabbed the blade in its gut whilst Violet jumped over and sent a brutal punch to its face, breaking its nose.

Enraged, the Ape swung its left arm to the left, clipping the back of Clementine's head as she was standing up. The hit stumbled her, and the Ape made its way for her staggering form.

The noise from the other fight taking place around them was dying down.

Recovering from her jump, Violet turned to her right and saw the Ape marching over to a dazed Clementine. She watched as it moved its arms back, like a baseball player preparing to hit a home run. She froze like a deer in headlights. Time all but stopped for her.

"Don't do what I think you're going to do! You won't make it Vi! It's impossible! Please don't do this!" Came Minnie's pleading voice inside her head.

That was all Violet needed to hear. She was going to prove that the impossible _was_ possible. Setting her feet into the ideal position to get as much speed as possible, Violet lunged towards her best friend. As she got closer, so did the hammer. This was going to be close. Pushing herself harder, Violet reached Clementine's side and shoulder charged her, moving her out of the way just as the hammer came crashing into her chest instead.

Violet didn't so much hear the distorted _'boom'_ as she did feel it. She felt weightless, and two seconds later, she crashed, back first into a wall. She didn't know if she screamed, but by judging at the way her team looked to her, she had a good feeling she did.

Clementine watched as her best friend's body impacted with the wall, heard her cry out in something worse than agony and slump down to the floor. She watched as she tried her damnedest to stand back up, extending her right arm out to help push herself up the wall to stand, only for the 9 ft Ape to look at her in something akin to disgust before rotating its weapon to the blade, and slamming the blade down across her arm severing it. She watched as her best friend let out one last cry before going limp against the wall. Standing herself back up, she marched over to Mitch who – along with Indigo – stood still, frozen in shock at the event they all witnessed, snatched a grenade off his harness and ran toward the Ape with her own cry of fury.

Upon hearing the cry from the other girl, the Ape turned around in time to see Clementine charging straight for it. It roared back and charged her too, both of them on a path toward what looked like Mutually Assured Destruction. The Ape dropped its hammer and reared its fist back to strike Clementine in the face. As the punch was thrown, Clementine once again slid under its attack. Recovering faster than last time, she stood, used her momentum to turn herself around and jumped onto the Ape's back once more, pulling the pin as she landed.

As it felt the extra weight, it let out an enraged roar, only to feel a live grenade shoved into its mouth. Confused at the sudden object it now held in its mouth, and at the sudden change in weight, it span around to stare at Clementine who'd jumped off its back. Clementine formed a gun with her finger and thumb and pointed it at the Ape. The last words it heard were 'Hasta la vista, baby.', as Clementine pretended to fire at the same time the grenade detonated, painting the area with the contents of its head.

With the fight over, Clementine paused to regain her breath.

"Vi? Violet? Violet! NO! Please, don't do this!" Came Minnie's cries as she materialised herself in front of her limp friend.

"Oh _shit!_ " Ruby exclaimed, recovering from her state of shock, and running to Violet's side, trying her hardest to stabilise her.

" _Violet!_ " Clementine cried, running to her side and removing both Violet's helmet and her own. "Vi? Wake up. Please Goddammit, _WAKE UP!_ " Clementine pleaded to her best friend. Resting her head against Violet's, hoping it would help her wake up. Behind her she could hear Mitch cry out in rage as he emptied Shotgun shells into what sounded like the body of the Ape. She'd heard two people leave the room, probably Louis and Marlon preparing the Pelicans for a casevac.

"Clem, we need to get her out of here or she won't make it. Biofoam can't exactly _seal_ an injury like that. I've done what I can with what I have, but we'll lose her if she doesn't get proper medical attention soon." Ruby warned.

"Yeah, of course." Clementine whispered. "Ruby, Mitch, could you..." Clementine trailed off, fighting back tears.

"Yeah, we got it Clem. Come on Rubester, let's see if Louis and Marlon need a hand." Mitch said, calmer now that he'd had at least some revenge for what the creature did to Violet. He gave Ruby a helping hand up. "Do you want me to..." Mitch too trailed off, his heart hurting like it hadn't before.

"Just the arm." Clementine whispered.

Mitch nodded and respectfully picked up Violet's severed arm and followed Ruby out.

Reaching around Violet's head, Clementine removed Minnie's Data Crystal Chip and plugged her into her head. Then she gently picked up Violet.

"Vitals?" Clementine asked, making her way out the facility.

"Whose? Yours or Violets?" Minnie asked.

"Both." Clementine replied.

"Almost nonexistent and erratic. I think you know which is which." Minnie whispered, dejectedly.

"I should've told her how I feel." Clementine said, nearing the exit. "Now I fear I'll never get the chance."

"And how do you feel?" Minnie inquired.

"With her? Whole. Without her? Like my world may just fall apart. I... but you know how I feel, don't you?" Clementine whispered, trailing off once more.

"I do. The heart doesn't lie Clem." Minnie said.

"Nor do the eyes."

"Clem, the _Autumn_ is preparing every medical service it can spare!" Louis said, making his way over to them.

Clementine nodded, the feeling of emptiness beginning to settle.

"We'll take the second Pelican, give you some space," Mitch told her. "We've also notified the _Autumn_ to send recovery crews for our fallen and whatever's left of those... _things_."

Clementine didn't acknowledge them, but they knew she'd heard them. They'd seen how close the two were, and they knew, right now, Clementine needed both time and space. Clementine took one Pelican with Violet and Minnie, whilst the rest boarded the other. All Clementine could do was hope they made it back in time to save her dying friend.


	23. Chapter 23: Come Back, I Still Need You

**A/N: Hey everyone! So here's Chapter 23, hope you all enjoyed Chapter 22. So, I'll get the usual out of the way first: 1. Doctor Henry Peterson and Elizabeth are two OC's for this chapter. 2. Spartan relationships: Can't find anything that says they can't have anything more than a friendship, though some people say that due to the augmentation process being so traumatic, Spartan II's either kept to themselves or only formed friendships. 3. I'd imagine any ship in the Halo Universe would have something akin to an 'Emergency Treatment Wing', but hey, this is AU. SNEAK PEEK TIME! Chapter's 26 and 28 introduce some familiar faces! Anyways, love ya'll, thanks for reading and as always: Enjoy the chapter! Peace! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 23: Come Back, I Still Need You

 _Pillar of Autumn_

 _Enroute back to the Planet Reach_

 _April 22, 2529_

 _13:43 hrs Reach time_

 _Outside Emergency Treatment Wing E-1_

Clementine had been waiting outside the Emergency Treatment Wing every chance she got. She hadn't been allowed in at all to see Violet, and everyone was worrying not only about Violet, but Clementine too. Clementine wasn't alone whilst waiting however, as she had Minnie to keep her company, even if they both chose to wait in silence. Arriving back on the _Autumn_ had been... chaotic, medical teams and Doctors coated Hangar Bay E-5 as both Pelicans came in to land, and had practically swamped Clementine as she carried Violet out of the dropship. After placing Violet on a stretcher, Clementine had followed Violet all the way to ETW E-1, only to be barred from entering with her. She, along with Minnie, had protested until Keyes came down from the Bridge to calm the distressed girls, telling them they could wait outside whilst the experts did their job. He told them that once he was back on the Bridge, he'd immediately set course back for Reach.

That had been late last night and they'd entered slip-space at 24:33 hrs Reach time. They wouldn't be back until early morning on April 25. Louis, Ruby, Marlon and Mitch had been to check up on her a few times and to get an update on the situation. The last time had been at 11:21 hrs. Each time they'd been, Clementine had _only_ told them there'd been no development. So here she sat, waiting for someone to give her an update on Violet's condition.

"Clementine, you should really get your own injuries looked at." Minnie advised.

"I'm, agh. I'm fine Minnie." Clementine replied, the pain in her back from being crushed between a wall and an armoured Ape once again making its presence known. Clementine had stopped counting the amount of times it'd done that.

"Bullshit Clem. You need to get your back looked at. For the Record, that's number forty-four now." Informed Minnie.

"What is?" Clementine asked, once again wincing in pain at her back.

"The amount of times your back has had a shock of pain. Oh, and forty-five."

"Please don't." Clementine asked.

"Fine. Just looking out for you is all. Violet would do the same for us."

"She did." Clementine whispered.

A minute later, a Doctor came out to the girls.

"Clementine?" He asked. "My name is Doctor Henry Peterson."

"Is she alright?" Clementine asked, standing up at such a speed she put Doctor Peterson off balance for a second.

"She's..." Peterson trailed off.

"I wouldn't bullshit her, she's _really_ not in the mood for it." Minnie advised, appearing next to Clementine.

Peterson sighed. "She's stable enough to last the trip back. Honestly, I'm surprised she has very little internal damage to her chest. The chest piece is ruined, but it miraculously saved her life. Unfortunately, we were unable to save her arm. She's going to need a replacement and rehabilitation, _if_ she agrees to a replacement. But that's up to her. If she doesn't agree to a replacement then... then she'll most likely be discharged and forced to leave the program. I don't know what happens after that, that's as much as I know."

Clementine stood silent, lost for words. Minnie was in no better position and opted to disappear instead.

"Can you give her the replacement?" Clementine wondered aloud.

Peterson shook his head. "We don't have the facilities. Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex, however, does. But as I said, it's her choice."

"Do they know about what's happened?"

"I don't know." Peterson replied with a shrug. "You'd have to ask the Captain."

There was a minute long pause before anyone said anything again.

"Can I... I mean, can _we_ go in and see her?" Clementine asked, indicating to herself and her head with a finger.

"You can." Peterson allowed. "Bear in mind that she's in a low level coma due to her injuries. We predict she'll be like that for a few days, but she is expected to make a full recovery."

Clementine nodded and walked towards the doors Peterson had come through. Only to stop in front of the open doors and address Peterson again. "Could you let Fireteam Indigo know? If you see them?" She asked Peterson.

"Of course." Peterson replied with a nod. "Oh, and Clementine?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

Peterson paused before shaking his head. "Nevermind. Take care." With that, he left for his next destination.

Clementine watched him disappear around a corner before making her way to the side of the bed Violet was laying on.

" _This_ is definitely déjà vu." Clementine said, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. "Me sitting beside you, whilst you're stuck in a hospital bed."

She looked at the deathly still figure of Violet. She wore a medical ventilator to help compensate for her shallow breathing. Her blonde hair was almost perfectly in place, her green eyes were hidden from her amber ones and she wore a blue medical gown. The remains of her MJOLNIR armour had been placed on three surgical trolleys with two stainless steel trays on each. The two pieces that stood out the most was the chest piece that had taken the brunt of the hammer's impact. Clementine was surprised that it managed to withstand the swing _and_ save Violet's life. The last piece was Violet's helmet. The visor was completely cracked and looked to be on the verge of shattering if mishandled.

Her own armour wasn't in the best condition either, it was currently in the space Fireteam Indigo was staying in. She'd have people look at it when they arrived on Reach.

As Clementine sat in silence besides Violet, the doors opened and a woman walked in. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in here." She apologised.

Clementine looked up and smiled sadly at the woman before looking back to Violet.

"My name's Elizabeth, but Liz is fine." Elizabeth said, introducing herself and extending a hand out to Clementine.

Clementine shook her hand. "Clementine, Spartan: Sierra Oh-Four-Five. Fireteam Indigo."

"A Spartan? May I?" Elizabeth asked, motioning towards the chair next to Clementine.

Clementine nodded.

The two sat in awkward silence for a minute. Clementine not in a talking mood and Elizabeth not knowing what to say to her.

"You know," Elizabeth began, attempting to break the awkward silence. "I was one of many who helped in keeping your friend alive."

Clementine's attention immediately went to Elizabeth. "Really?" She asked.

Elizabeth nodded with a smile. "Really." She confirmed.

"Thank you!"

"You're very welcome Spartan. But you should know, there were many times we didn't think she'd make it." Elizabeth said dejectedly.

"What happened?" Clementine asked worriedly.

"She..." Elizabeth shook her head. "She flatlined four times." She whispered sadly.

"What!" Both Clementine and Minnie exclaimed. The latter revealing herself for the first time since hearing the news about Violet.

Elizabeth nodded sadly. "We're unsure exactly as to why." Then it suddenly occurred to her that the two didn't know about that. "You didn't know? Either of you?" She asked, looking to Clementine and then Minnie.

"No, should we have?" Minnie asked.

"Y-yes. Who let you in?" Elizabeth inquired.

"Doctor Henry Peterson." Clementine replied.

"I'm sorry, I told him to tell you if he saw you." Elizabeth apologised.

"Don't sweat it Liz. I'm just relieved she's alive." Clementine said, taking Violet's hand in hers and rubbing her thumb over the top of her hand.

"She means a lot to you? Doesn't she?" Elizabeth asked, noticing the act of affection.

"She does." Whispered Clementine.

"You don't have to answer, but... are Spartans allowed relationships?"

Clementine looked to Elizabeth then back to Violet. "We haven't been told we can't." She then looked to Minnie for confirmation.

"You're correct. There are no rules forbidding Spartans from pursuing relationships, the process that turns them into Spartans usually... affects them mentally, so the only bonds some will form will be those of close friendships, but either way, it is expected of them to always put the mission first." Minnie replied, elaborating on the subject a little more.

"Does... does she feel the same for you as you for her?" Elizabeth asked.

"Violet does." Minnie confirmed.

"Did you know?" Elizabeth asked Clementine.

Clementine nodded her head and looked to Elizabeth. "Her eyes told me everything she felt when she looked at me." Clementine confirmed.

"That's what you meant by 'nor do the eyes'!" Minnie said, Clementine's words making more sense now.

Clementine allowed a small sad upturn of her lips in response.

Elizabeth looked to the injured Violet and then to Clementine. "We should leave her be for a bit." She suggested.

"Yeah." Clementine agreed, standing up. She leaned down to Violet's ear. "Come back, I still need you." She whispered, before standing up and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Standing up straight, Clementine followed Elizabeth out.


	24. Chapter 24: Awakening

Chapter 24: Awakening

 _Pillar of Autumn_

 _Hours away from the planet Reach_

 _April 24, 2529_

 _12:30 hrs Reach time_

 _Pillar of Autumn Mess Hall_

Fireteam Indigo were sat in the Mess Hall having lunch, except, Clementine. She was sat next to Ruby but hadn't touched any of her food yet. Instead, she sat propping her head up while poking and jabbing at her food with the fork she currently held for five minutes. They'd noticed and they knew why: she was worried sick for Violet.

"Clem, I swear, you're gonna drive me fucking mad if you don't eat _something_. I get you're worried, we all are, but don't make us worry about you too." Mitch said, finally speaking up.

Clementine stopped, looked up at him with a blank expression for a second before going back to poking her food.

"Mitch, you're really not helping, but you're right." Ruby said, stopping Mitch before he could say anything again. "Clem, we're all worried about Violet, but not eating won't bring her back to us any sooner. Just, try to eat something? If not for us then for her?"

Clementine once again stopped her poking to look towards Ruby. She returned her gaze to the food and conceded with a sigh.

"Fine." She whispered.

Clementine finally decided to eat, albeit not a lot, but still enough to satisfy Ruby and her worried friends.

"How are you holding up Clem?" Louis asked, looking to his friend.

"I don't know Louis. Taking it one day at a time I guess." Clementine said dejectedly.

"She'll come back to us. You'll see. Nothing keeps that girl down." Louis reassured.

"She better." Clementine whispered.

A few minutes passed in silence before Marlon got up and said he was heading to the Bridge to find out when they'd be back at Reach.

"I'm going to... well, I guess you know where I'm going." Clementine said, standing up and heading towards the doors.

"Can I come?" Louis asked.

Clementine turned to look at him. "You don't have to ask Louis. None of you do."

With that, the rest of Indigo rose up and followed Clementine to the ETW.

* * *

 _12:40 hrs Reach time_

 _Emergency Treatment Wing E-1_

Clementine sat down next to Violet's bed with Louis sitting in the seat besides hers, whilst Mitch and Ruby moved two others to sit with them.

"It hurts seeing her like this." Louis whispered.

"Yeah. It's not right." Mitch said, sitting down next to Louis.

"It's my fault."

Louis, Mitch and Ruby looked at Clementine.

"What do you mean?" Asked Ruby.

"This is all my fault. If I'd recovered faster, Violet wouldn't be laying in this bed with one arm." Clementine said, her head hanging and feeling entirely guilty for her friends condition.

"Clementine. _No one_ could've recovered quickly from a hit like that." Mitch said, leaning forwards to look at her. "Look at me?" He asked her. When she did, he continued. "That _thing_ was huge and its hands looked almost as big as your head, so it's obvious it was going to hit hard, plus, its size had you _both_ at a clear disadvantage. Now, stop blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault and couldn't foresee. She," He said, pointing to Violet. "Saved your life. Why? Because you're her friend and someone she cares for dearly. So you _will_ stop blaming yourself for this, and, when she wakes up... ah hell, either shit or get off the pot."

Clementine and the others looked at Mitch, each wearing a shocked expression.

"What?" He asked.

"What was-"

"Never mind that." Clementine said, cutting Louis off. "How did you-"

"You two made it pretty obvious with the way you acted around each other." Mitch smirked, cutting Clementine off like she did Louis. " _Especially_ your reaction to when she took that swing for you." He said sadly, his smirk disappearing from his face.

There was silence for a minute, only for it to be broken by the sound of someone's voice. The quartet looked to the bed to see Violet's eyes slowly open.

When her eyes opened she saw her friends wearing expressions of hope, mixed with concern and sadness. "Who died?" She asked sarcastically with a small smile, her voice a little scratchy.

"No one." Louis said.

"Violet!" Everyone but Louis exclaimed.

"Oh right. Ahem. Violet!" Louis exclaimed, a huge smile now on his face.

Violet smiled and sighed a sigh of relief, happy to see her friends and her favourite girls again.

Standing up – at what could've been mistaken as the speed of light – Clementine hugged the bed bound girl who gladly reciprocated.

"Clem!" Violet shouted worriedly.

Clementine pulled back and looked at her, mirroring her expression.

"Why... why can't I move my right arm?" Violet desperately asked.

"Vi, I'm sorry," Clementine said, tears on the verge of making themselves known. "But... it's gone." She whispered.

"What do you mean it's-" She cut herself off when she saw her arm was no longer attached to her. "Oh fu-" She cut herself off with quiet sobs. Violet looked back at the others with tears staining her eyes – Louis no longer had a smile on his face.

Clementine hugged Violet once again, holding her tight, as the consequences of saving Clementine came crashing down on top of her. Violet held Clementine as tightly as she possibly could with one arm.

"Come on guys," Louis whispered. "Let's give 'em some time."

With that being said, Louis, Mitch and Ruby left the girls in privacy.

"I'm so sorry Vi." Clementine said, her own tears now falling down her face. "This is al-"

"Don't you dare Clementine." Violet warned, cutting her off. "It's _my_ fault I'm in this position." She shook her head as Clementine went to argue. " _It is_. And you need know that I'd do what I did again if it meant saving you or Mitch, Marlon, Ruby or Louis."

Clementine pulled back enough to look Violet in the eyes. "I... I missed you. _WE_ missed you."

Violet smiled at her. "I missed you too. I missed all of you." She looked to Minnie. "Hey you."

Minnie waved to her with a smile. "Hey yourself."

"You looked after Clem for me?" She asked.

"Not as well as you, but I tried. She was too concerned for you." Minnie said with a sad smile.

"Why am I not surprised?" Violet said with a smile.

"Because you know I'd do anything for you?" Clementine asked.

Violet chuckled. "Yeah, I know."

Clementine sat back down in her seat and took Violet's hand in her own. "You scared me a lot, you know? I was terrified you wouldn't make it."

"It was that bad?" Violet whispered.

Clementine nodded, gently squeezing Violet's hand. "Enough for me to regret not telling you something sooner."

"Oh," Violet smiled. "And what might that be?" She asked.

Clementine smiled herself, stood up and leaned down to place a soft kiss on Violet's lips. The kiss lasted five seconds and Violet responded to it with a smile after two.

Clementine pulled back a small amount, a soft smile on her lips.

"You two are absolutely adorable!" Minnie exclaimed excitedly.

Clementine and Violet smiled at Minnie's reaction.

Violet looked in Clementine's eyes lovingly. "And I you." She whispered, before lifting up to capture Clementine's lips with her own.


	25. Chapter 25: Rehabilitation Part 1

**A/N: Hey, hey, hey all, I'm back with Chapter 25 (probably the longest chapter so far). So, just a reminder, the next few chapters are probably gonna be long ones as this is the section all about Violet's rehabilitation. I wanted to make this as real as possible and even had to do some research on the whole phantom limb thing and other stuff regarding amputation and prosthetics and all that jazz. if I did miss anything, feel free to let me know. I don't want to fill the 'Rehabilitation' with time jumps, but I will use them when I feel it's necessary to get the story moving once more. These Chapters will obviously be focused on Violet, however, I don't know how many I'll do (I promise not to over do it). If you really** ** _don't_** **want to read the 'Rehabilitation' sections (sub-plot/story(?)), then Chapter 29 is when there will be a break in them** ** _and_** **possibly** **an introduction to a new character that we know and love (oh the antici-pation!). Quick FUN FACT: I got the title for Chapter 23 from listening to** ** _Hold On_** **by** ** _Chord Overstreet_** **, definitely recommend listening to it if any of you go back and read the chapter again. Anyway, that should be everything! Love you guys, thank you so much for reading, knowing that people** ** _may_** **be enjoying my story makes me want to continue with it. I LOVE writing this story and I honestly have NO IDEA how long it's gonna be (what have I gotten myself into? Oh well, I love it). On that note: Hope you enjoy, thanks for reading and being here and feel free to review (I know it isn't everyones cup of tea so I wont beg, I'm not that kinda guy). Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night too. - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 25: Rehabilitation – Rising Tension, Doubts and A Prosthetic

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Fireteam Indigo's Living Quarters_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 25, 2529_

 _10:23 hrs_

 _Clementine's Room_

After Violet had woken up – and both Clementine and Violet had confessed their feelings for eachother – the rest of Indigo and even Keyes, had come to spend time with Violet in the Emergency Treatment Wing. Only after Violet had confirmed she was ok discussing what happened did they talk about events on Arcadia. The fact that that two highly trained Spartans and a whole Fireteam of them had been bested by an unknown sentient had them all concerned and one highly shaken. Clementine told Violet about her option of having a replacement arm installed, to which she agreed to immediately. One incident like that wasn't going to make her quit the program, it only encouraged her to stick with it. The _Pillar of Autumn_ had arrived over Reach in the early hours of the morning, and had been preparing medical and technical services as Indigo was on a Pelican down to Reach. Once they arrived, Violet was wheeled into the base for a full check up.

That had been about five hours ago, and after Indigo arrived back on Reach, Clementine had gone straight to her bedroom and hadn't left since. She wasn't sure where the rest of her team was sans Minnie who was with her and Violet who was possibly undergoing health checks before she had her new arm installed. Clementine had been sat in the silence of her room since she got back, and, had been unable to get the events on Arcadia out of her head.

"Minnie?" Clementine asked, after hours of silence.

"I'm here Clem, what do you need?" Minnie replied.

"Do we have _any_ info on those things we found on Arcadia? Biology, Physiology, whatever?"

"I... I wish I had good news for you Clem. But there's nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Absolutely nada." Minnie confirmed.

Clementine sighed exasperatedly.

"Just fucking great." Clementine grumbled.

Clementine stood up and finally exited her room, making her way to the bathroom. She made her way to the sink, turned the cold water on full blast and splashed her face.

"Clem?" Came a voice behind her.

Clementine jumped and turned sharply ready to attack, only to see Louis standing in the doorway.

" _Jesus Louis_. Where've you been, and how long have you been standing there?" Clementine asked, relaxing and putting a damp hand over her heart trying to slow it down.

"Where? Nowhere really. How long have I been here? Not long, just got back, and when I saw you make your way in here I thought I'd check up on you. You seem really on edge."

Clementine smiled a quick smile at him before grabbing a flannel and patting her face down.

"That's... sweet Louis. But I'm fine." Clementine told him.

Louis eyed her suspiciously.

"Why do I get the feeling you're just saying that?" He asked.

"I don't know what y-"

"Because she _is_ just saying that." Minnie said, cutting her off and appearing to the left of Clementine's head. "She's still stressing over what happened."

"Minnie!" Clementine scolded.

"What? This worrying isn't healthy Clem! You've been sat in your room for five hours in _complete silence_."

"I knew something was up." Louis said from the doorway. "As Minnie said, this isn't healthy Clem. Look. We're all fine, we all made it out in one piece."

Clementine looked to Louis then Minnie then Louis again with a hurt and angry expression.

"No, Louis we're not ' _all fine_ ', we didn't all make it ' _out in one piece_ '! Do you remember what happened to Violet and Unity or did that just so happen to slip your mind?" Clementine said, raising her voice as she spoke. "I don't need this shit from the pair of you!"

Louis visibly recoiled at what she'd said and looked away. He had to admit, he used an exceptionally poor choice of words.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her.

Clementine exhaled sharply out her nose before bumping past Louis to leave.

Clementine walked aimlessly down the hallways, her auto-pilot taking over and directing her to the firing range. As she entered, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked around. The firing range was as clean and tidy as ever. Faraway always was a neat freak, the whole place had to be spotless and everything had to be back where it was before he'd leave the room. Clementine walked over to the clear tabletop on her left, where people would put anything and everything on. Now that she thought about it, the range was unnaturally empty and quiet. At this time there'd usually be a group of people in here, be it either Spartans, Marines, ODSTs or both, and, the table would be covered in all kinds of shit, ranging from weapons to sights and different types of ammo. Once she'd even found it lined with watermelons. Clementine took one last look around before leaving the firing range, the strange silence was unnerving her for an unknown reason. Deciding to take her aimless wandering somewhere less aimless, she headed to the canteen.

"Clementine?" Minnie asked.

"What do you want Minnie?"

"I'm sorry. I'm worried about you. We all are. I was trying to look out for you."

Clementine stopped for a second before leaning against the wall and slumping down into a sitting position.

"I get that Minnie, I do. But I'm the leader of this Fireteam, it's my job to keep everyone safe, even if that means I have to give a part of myself up to do so, or give up my life. Instead, Violet took a blow for me and almost died because of it. That's on me. Plus, we have no idea what we're up against and no one knows anything about them either." Clementine sighed. "How do we fight an enemy we know nothing about?"

"Halsey may know." Minnie suggested.

Clementine scoffed. "Like she'll tell us anything. Secretive bitch, there's too much cloak-and-dagger shit with her."

"That's ONI for you." Minnie whispered.

The two were silent for a minute before Clementine spoke up.

"Minnie. Am I... Am I a bad leader?"

"What?" Minnie asked, thinking she'd heard wrong.

"Am I a bad leader?" Clementine asked again.

"N-no, what makes you ask that?"

"The fact that I almost witnessed my best- my _girlfriend_ die on my watch, and, the way I was with Louis before."

"Oh, Clem. Every leader almost watches someone die everyday, and conflict within a team is normal and to be expected. Especially after something like we've been through."

"But Violet took a blow meant for me."

"You would've done the same for her. Just because she took a blow for you doesn't make you a bad leader." Minnie assured her.

"Clementine?" Came a voice from above her.

"What now?" Clementine sighed, looking up to see CPO Mendez looming over her.

"For fucks sake." Clementine whispered, closing her eyes and resting the back of her head on the wall.

"Mendez, Sir. How can we help?" Minnie asked for a rather embarrassed Clementine.

"Looking rather sorry for yourself there Clementine." Mendez observed.

"With all due respect Sir: Fuck off." Clementine said from the floor, still not in the best of moods.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, mainly because I know about what happened on Arcadia, and that's partly why I'm here. Violet, has asked to see you both." He said, gaining the full attention of Clementine, who immediately stood up.

"What, why? Is she alright?" Clementine asked.

Mendez raised his hands up to calm her. "Whoa, easy Spartan, it's nothing serious. She's currently getting her prosthetic arm calibrated, and, she wanted you both to be there when she tries it out."

Clementine breathed a sigh a relief. "Ok. Lead the way Sir."

* * *

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _10:50 hrs_

 _Prosthetic Wing A-3_

"How do you feel?" Asked one of the medics on Violet's left.

"Like I'm missing an arm." She deadpanned.

"I see your sense of humour survived." Clementine called, entering the room.

Violet looked up to see Clementine walking towards her and smiled at her. "Hey you."

Clementine winked at her. "Hey yourself. How're you feeling? And please don't say 'like I'm missing an arm'."

The tank top clad Violet smirked at her and chuckled. "I feel a little weird. I've been told the arm is permanent and non-removable, so I'm stuck with it. Not sure how I feel about that, but we'll see. Plus... I kinda want to put my long sleeve t-shirt back on. I'm not comfortable with the thought of having it on show in public."

Clementine smiled sadly at her. She decided to try and lighten the mood a little. "Well, looks like you're going to have one arm skinnier than the other." She joked.

Violet wore a look of dread. "I swear to God, I'm going to flip shit if you're serious."

"Don't you worry, she's pulling your leg. With these prosthetics it's all a matter of perspective sometimes. You'll be glad to know it's actually the same size as your other arm. Although, I can see why you said that. Almost done, I'm currently finishing off the calibrations, and, I can safely say it works and it's durable. Name's Michael, Prosthetic Engineer. I'd shake your hand but I need to finish this." Said the Engineer – Michael – who was on the right side of Violet, fiddling with and tweaking the arm to keep up with a Spartan.

"I understand, and thanks." Clementine said.

"It's my pleasure, didn't think I'd have to install one onto a Spartan. I'm sorry about what happened to you." Michael apologised, quickly looking to Violet before returning his gaze to the arm.

"I appreciate that Michael." Violet said. "So, where're the others?" She asked Clementine.

"Not sure, last I saw, Louis was in our living quarters. But I'm in no rush to see him again." Clementine said, folding her arms.

"Why?" When Clementine didn't answer, Violet tried again. "Clementine, why?"

Clementine sighed reluctantly. "Louis came to check on me this morning, asked how I was and Minnie told him I'd been stressing over what happened on Arcadia, he said how it was unhealthy and that we're 'all fine' and that we all made it 'out in one piece'."

"Oh..." Was all Violet said.

"Yea, so you can understand why I'm not in the best of moods with him."

Violet looked at Clementine with a worried expression. "It's not just that is it?" She asked.

"No. No it's not." Clementine said, looking down.

"Clem?"

She didn't respond.

Violet sighed sadly. "Clem, we can't hide shit from one another. The two of us... we're more than just teammates now. What's bothering you?"

Clementine nodded slightly and looked up to Violet. "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be Fireteam leader."

Violet gasped. "What? Why? What makes you say that?"

"Look at our mission to Arcadia, Vi. It was a total shitshow that you almost didn't walk out of, _and_ , I'm pretty sure Mitch committed a war crime and broke the Geneva Convention by emptying his shotgun into the dead creature."

"You sure it was dead?" Michael asked.

Clementine looked at him. "...The second time around."

Michael looked up at her curiously.

"It's a long story, maybe we'll tell you over a drink sometime."

Michael nodded and went back to work finishing up on Violet's prosthetic.

"Wasn't the Geneva Convention _years_ ago? Does it even still apply today?" Violet asked.

"It was created in 1864, that was 665 years ago. As for it applying today... even I'm not certain on that." Minnie said.

"Still, it was a total shitshow. One that I could have prevented." Clementine said.

"Do you really believe that? That you could have prevented it?" Violet asked.

"Ye-" Clementine paused for a minute before correcting herself. "No. No I don't believe it."

"None of us could've prepared for what we were put up against. You _are_ a good leader Clem, don't let _anyone_ tell you otherwise." Violet assured her.

Clementine smiled at Violet.

"There, should be all done. Give it whirl." Michael said, standing up to admire his work.

Violet looked to Michael, then the arm, then Michael again. "So... how does it work?" She asked.

Michael chuckled. "If I had a credit everytime someone said that to me... anyway, it's just like a natural arm. You think of what you want it to do and..." He trailed off, allowing Violet to fill in the blanks.

Violet nodded her understanding.

"Why don't you start with something simple? Like forming a fist?" Clementine suggested.

Michael snapped his fingers and pointed to Clementine. "Agreed."

Violet smiled nervously. "Well, here goes nothing I guess."

Clementine and Michael watched with baited breath as the fingers and thumb on Violet's prosthetic twitched and slowly came together to form a fist.

"Heh, I... I did it." Violet said to herself with a confident smile.

"Excellent work! Now, rehabilitation will take a few weeks, so spend some time getting used to the prosthetic, focus on using it as much as possible and get used to picking things up and sleeping with it. Don't neglect you're natural arm, but that goes without saying, and, come see me if you need it recalibrating or readjusting in any way." Michael informed her.

"Thank you Michael." Violet said sincerely.

"Yeah, thanks Michael." Clementine thanked him. "This means a lot, for the both of us."

Michael shrugged humbly. "As I said, it was my pleasure Spartans. You two take care of eachother and go easy on one another." Michael told them.

"We will." Clementine and Violet said in unison, looking to eachother with a smile.

The two girls and and Minnie made their way to the doors to leave.

"Wait one!" Michael called, halting them in their tracks as he made his way over to them. "Violet, something you should know. It's important."

"Ok, shoot." Violet said a little worriedly.

"You may... how do I say this so it makes sense?" Michael asked himself. "Ok, so you _may_ get this feeling called phantom limb. It's where you get the sensation or feeling that an amputated limb is still there, still attached. Now it's nothing serious but if you get a painful feeling where your right arm should be, that's just phantom limb. Now, I recommend doing things that won't stress you out or make you anxious as that has a tendency to make the pain worse. Hell, weather changes have been known to trigger it too sometimes. Some of my other patients that have an arm prosthetic have said that they feel as if they are gesturing, feeling an itch, twitching or even picking something up, all of which are examples of phantom limb. Symptoms range from: tingling, itching, burning or aching, but on the bright side, intensity and frequency of attacks will decrease with time."

"Thanks for the heads up Michael." Violet said.

"Clementine, I trust you'll help make this transition as easy as possible for her?" Michael asked.

"Of course, I won't let her out of my sight. I'll take good care of her, like she has me." Clementine reassured him, wrapping her arm around Violet's waist and bringing her in closer. Clementine was rewarded with a heart-warming smile from Violet and an approving nod off Michael before he turned to clean up his station.

"Hungry?" Clementine asked.

"Starved." Responded Violet, after struggling to put her long sleeve t-shirt on.

"I could go for a bite." Minnie said.

Violet and Clementine chuckled at Minnie before the two girls headed for the canteen.


	26. Chapter 26: Rehabilitation Part 2

**A/N: Quick note, the character we all know and love will be introduced in Chapter 30 instead. Sorry for the delay, that's entirely my fault, I honestly thought I'd get them in, but if I did, then the chapter would've been a pretty big one. but, if you do want bigger chapters, just let me know. Also, I've gone through some past chapters to add a page break or whatever to separate the different locations and stuff so it isn't all jumbled into one huge mess (basically a quality of life change for all). That should be everything, thank you for reading and I'll see you guys later! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 26: Rehabilitation – A Small Surprise, an Outburst and Revealed Secrets

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 25, 2529_

 _11:05 hrs_

 _Spartan Cafeteria_

"What's on the menu today?" Violet wondered aloud, as Clementine and herself made their way over to a pile of trays for their food.

"Porridge?" Clementine guessed.

"Clem, I'm a growing girl who has also recently lost an arm. I need an actual meal, not fucking prison food." Violet joked.

Clementine laughed and looked to the screens behind the counter that displayed what was available today. "Well," She began. "You're in luck, no prison food. How about a Moa burger?" She asked, pointing to the cartoon head of a Moa next to a burger.

"You mean the space Emu's?" Violet chuckled. "Very tempting, but I'm in the mood for a _real_ meal, not party food."

"A real meal huh?" One of the chefs asked her, overhearing the last part of their conversation.

"That'd be ideal." Violet said.

Clementine nodded. "Yeah, she's a growing girl and needs herself some food." She said, playfully bumping Violet's shoulder.

Violet rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Hmm. Let me see if I can sort something out. One for you too?" The chef asked Clementine.

She looked to Violet who gave her a quick nod. "Sure."

The chef nodded. "Give me your trays and I'll be back in, well... you'll be waiting a while, hope you're prepared to wait."

The two girls nodded and passed their trays to the chef, watching as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"C'mon, let's grab a seat." Clementine said, directing Violet to a table at the back of the room. "You going to be alright eating?" Clementine asked, as the two sat down.

Violet raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. "Clem, I'm injured, not an invalid. I'll be fine."

"You sure? We can play 'here comes the aeroplane' if you want?" Clementine asked with a smirk.

Violet wore a surprised smile on her face. "You're are aiming for a slap Clementine, I swear to God." She said, trying to contain her laughter, but failing horribly.

Clementine grinned at Violet and held her hand across the table. She was happy to see that her injury hadn't affected her too much.

Violet smiled at Clementine and shook her head playfully, giving her hand a squeeze. "You're the worst sometimes." Violet joked.

"Mmhmm. The worst of the worst." Clementine agreed, smile still on her face.

The two sat in comfortable silence for two minutes before Violet spoke up.

"I hate to ruin the mood, but... I think we need to talk a little more about _what_ we found on Arcadia."

Clementine sighed. "I agree. Minnie has _no_ information on whatever they were."

"But we do know they're an unknown species." Violet stated.

"An unknown, _violent_ species." Clementine corrected.

Violet nodded her head in agreement before an idea came to mind. "Minnie?" She asked.

"Here." Minnie said, materialising in the centre of the table.

"Did you collect any information on those creatures?" Violet asked.

"Very little, why?"

"Hold on," Clementine said, cutting in. "You told me you had nothing."

"No, I said we have nothing. _We_ as in the UNSC. You never asked me if _I_ had any information on them." Minnie informed her almost smugly.

Clementine was floored, and she certainly looked it. "This can't be happening," She began. "Please tell me I didn't just get sassed by Minnie."

"Sorry Clem, but you just got sassed by Minnie." Violet said, chuckling lightly behind her hand.

Clementine groaned and let her head bang lightly on their table. She looked up ten seconds later with a small gasp and stared at Violet.

Violet noticed pretty quickly and dropped her hand. "What?" She asked.

"Vi, you jus- how did you not notice that you-" Clementine stumbled, trying to find the right words.

"Jesus Clem, what?!" Violet asked, getting more frustrated with her girlfriend's inability to speak.

Clementine sighed and pouted. "Fine, cover your mouth with your hand again." She said.

Violet blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Did I fucking stutter?" Clementine asked with a playful tone.

Violet rolled her eyes, but did as Clementine asked.

Clementine shook her head. "Your other hand."

Violet sighed, but swapped hands. "And?" She asked from behind her hand.

Clementine tilted her head in the direction of Violet's hand, silently telling her to look for herself.

Violet sighed once again, but this time with mild frustration. "I swear Clem, if this is some elab... o... rate..." She trailed off as she saw what Clementine had been staring at. "Uhhhh." Violet was at a loss for words.

"How did-"

"I don't know." Violet said, answering Clementine's question before she asked it.

"Isn't this a nice surprise?" Clementine asked.

Violet didn't answer straight away, instead, she tried to move her prosthetic so it was resting naturally on the table, to no avail.

"Come, on." She mumbled in slight frustration.

"Maybe you're thinking to hard about it?" Clementine guessed.

"Well what the fuck's that supposed to mean?" Violet asked, voiced raised a little.

"I... don't, know." Clementine said, unsure herself as to what she meant.

"Next time, fucking say something helpful, or don't say anything at all!" Violet shouted, slamming her prosthetic fist onto the table and leaving an unhealthy dent in it.

Clementine recoiled at both Violet's words and her fist slamming on the table. The canteen went quiet as all eyes seemed to fall on them. Violet looked around and was immediately overcome with embarrassment, looking away from the staring eyes of everyone else. Clementine looked to Violet and everyone in the canteen. Despite Violet's outburst towards her, she had to do something.

"What the fuck you all looking at!?" She shouted, standing up to address them all. "Last I checked, none of you were having to adjust to a prosthetic limb, so I suggest you get back to whatever you were doing. If you have a problem with her, you take it up with _me_ , see how far _that_ gets you."

The crowd remained silent for a few seconds before everyone did as Clementine said, and went back to whatever it was they were doing. Clementine remained standing for a few seconds more before taking a seat.

"You ok, Vi?" She asked.

"I, uh... ow, shit. This is phantom limb shit is so fucked." Violet said, unintentionally wiggling her fingers and moving her prosthetic arm.

"How bad is it?"

"Painful. It's as Michael said, I can feel where my arm _should_ be, but I can't _feel_ my arm, if you know what I mean. Although I'm still not entirely sure on how to use my fucking arm."

"I get what you mean." Clementine confirmed.

Violet nodded and sighed. "Fuck Clem, I'm so sorry for shouting at you like that." Violet apologised.

Clementine took both of Violet's hands in hers. "It shocked me, and, yeah, what you said hurt. But in a way you were right too. What I said wasn't at all helpful, so don't worry about it." Clementine assured her.

Violet smiled lovingly at her girlfriend. "You're the best." She complimented.

"You're better." Clementine countered.

The two engaged in idle chatter, both losing track of time and what they were originally going to be discussing. Minnie didn't seem to mind as she even joined in with the idle conversation also. Clementine and Violet didn't know how much time had passed, only that the smell of something mouthwatering had drawn them back to reality. They turned their heads to see the chef they gave their trays to walk over to them with a nervous smile on her face.

"Here you go, you two lovely ladies asked for 'an actual meal' so I figured: nothing says 'an actual meal' more than a roast dinner. Think of it as a beta test, you enjoy it, we'll add it to the menu." She beamed. Clementine and Violet were lost for words as they watched the chef place their meal before them. "So, uh.. Bon Appétit." She said, once again wearing her nervous smile, before turning to leave.

Clementine and Violet looked to their meal then up at eachother with smiles on their faces. They picked up their cutlery and went to dig in, only for Violet to pause with a knife in one hand and a fork still on the table.

"You ok there, Vi?" Clementine asked.

"Just... one..." Violet mumbled. Closing her eyes and breathing in then out. She pictured what she wanted to do, thought about it and the simple movements required to execute her task. She opened her eyes and, this time, successfully moved her robotic prosthetic on command, picking up the fork. Violet smiled to herself and looked to Clementine, who also had a smile on her face.

"You did it." Clementine said with a small, pleased chuckle.

"Yeah, I did. Now, I just have to practice doing that in a more... fluent and smooth way." Violet said, pulling a face to ensure what she said made sense.

"Shall we?" Clementine asked Violet.

"We shall." Violet agreed.

The two girls dug in and were instantly overwhelmed with the taste and texture of their food. It was almost as if the chef that made this practised in their spare time. Clementine and Violet took their time, savouring every last bite before finishing up. The two sat in silence, with satisfied smiles.

"I think this needs to be on the menu." Violet said, leaning back to stretch.

"Agreed, I'll take the trays back." Clementine said, standing up.

Violet nodded. "And I'll-"

 _'Attention all Spartans, this is Doctor Halsey...'_

At this, the Mess Hall went silent for the second time that day as all attention went to the intercom.

 _'All Spartan Fireteams are to go to the Lecture Theatre at once for emergency briefing. Repeat, emergency briefing. I suggest you get moving Spartans, because as of today... humanity may have just run out of time.'_

With that ominous end, the intercom turned off and the Mess returned to the still silence. Whispers in the crowd could be heard and Clementine's heart started to beat a million beats per minute as she stood frozen, two empty trays in hand, before she dropped them. The loud crash sounded throughout the Mess and all eyes went to her, but she didn't register anything except for the thumping of her heart in her ears, her unusually fast breathing rate and sudden dizziness.

"Clem?" Violet asked, walking up to her.

Clementine's breathing didn't seem to be slowing, nor did the dizzy feeling show any signs of disappearing. The majority of the Mess had gone to the Lecture Theatre, but those who stayed had come over to check on her.

"Is she alright?" One Spartan asked.

"Minnie? Talk to me. What's wrong with her?" Violet asked her AI companion.

Minnie instantly began running a scan of Clementine.

"Sit her down, now!" Minnie shouted, surprising the Spartans around Clementine. They complied and sat her down. "She's having a panic attack," Minnie informed them. "Vi, you need to talk to her."

"Me?"

"Yes, she can still hear us but she'll listen to you. You have to calm her. You need to be firm but reassuring with her, the rest of you should leave," Minnie said to the Spartans that remained. "Tell Halsey we'll be there, but, right now, Clementine needs a quiet place to be in."

The Spartans nodded and left for the Lecture Theatre, albeit reluctantly, not wanting to leave one of their own mid panic attack. But by leaving they were helping her, so they used that knowledge as reassurance.

Violet stood in front of Clementine and crouched so she was eye level with her.

"Hey Clem," Violet said. Clementine's eyes lazily looked to Violet, her breathing still an unnaturally high pace. "I don't know what brought this on, but you're going to be fine. I need you to breath slowly, in through your nose, out through your mouth. I want you to say my name, just once when you can breathe again, so I know you've taken everything I said in."

As Violet spoke and told her what to do, Clementine's eyes slowly regained focus and her breathing returned to a somewhat normal speed. Clementine smiled at Violet. "Vi." She said.

Violet scrunched her eyebrows at Clementine. "Ah-ah, no cop outs. My _name_ not my _nickname_."

Clementine's smile grew and she rolled her eyes. "Violet." She deadpanned.

Violet planted a kiss on Clementine's forehead. "Better. Now we need to go. We've kept Halsey waiting too long."

* * *

 _13:04 hrs_

 _Lecture Theatre_

Clementine and Violet arrived in the Theatre to find everyone waiting for them, as they entered, a roomful of eyes fell onto them. Violet could feel a small painful stab where her arm used to be, and she unconsciously shook her prosthetic, trying to be rid of the feeling.

"Not like you two to be late," Halsey commented. Then she looked to Clementine. "And, it's not like you to have a panic attack either."

Clementine looked down and held her arm, avoiding the surprised looks from her team and others in the Theatre. Violet looked at Clementine then to Halsey with a glare.

"That was uncalled for." Violet growled. She gently took Clementine by the arm to take them up the stairs to the two spare seats by Ruby.

"I'd like Clementine to remain down here for the time being." Halsey called, stopping the two in their tracks. The Theatre had been uncomfortably still the whole time and Violet could feel her anger rising, as well as the increased pain from her phantom limb. Clementine had begun breathing slowly, purposefully, to keep her breathing even.

"It's ok." Clementine said, stopping Violet from retorting. "You go take a seat with Ruby."

"But Clem-" Violet protested.

Clementine put a reassuring hand on Violet's shoulder. "Go." She said, walking down the steps to the front of the room.

As Clementine got to the bottom of the stairs, she suddenly realised that Jerome, Douglas and Alice from Red Team stood at the front with Halsey. She didn't know they'd been recalled back to Reach – if they'd been recalled at all – and now she had a very good idea on what this was about. Halsey saying _'As of today... humanity may have just run out of time.'_ gave her a pretty good idea of what Halsey was referring to, but now, she was certain she _knew_ what this was about.

"Now, you're all undoubtedly confused as to why I called you here," Halsey began.

"Sex Ed?" A male Spartan called from the back of the Theatre, to a few snickers from the crowd.

"Hmm, yes, well, I can assure you you _won't_ find this funny or a laughing manner in a second." Halsey looked to her left and nodded to a woman whole looked like a scientist, she tapped a key on her laptop and all eyes looked to the screen at the front of the Theatre. On the screen behind her Clementine saw a sight she never wanted to see again. The room gasped at the sight. "This... is Harvest." Halsey said.

Clementine heard an _'oh, fuck no'_ from the crowd and turned to see that a few Spartans were indeed looking at a picture of their home. She didn't want to turn and look at the image again, but she had to.

"This was taken a day ago by my ex-student Professor Ellen Anders." She directed their attention to the woman Halsey had nodded to earlier.

"Who did this!" Someone called from somewhere in the middle row.

"Not who... what." Alice said, speaking up.

The room exploded into murmurs and loud whispers at her statement, someone even yelled out _'what the fuck is that supposed to mean?'_. Jerome whistled to get everyone's attention to quiet them down.

"There are only a few of us that knew about this attack..." Halsey started.

Clementine's breath caught in her throat. Halsey had ordered her to stay quiet about the attack, and she had. She hid crucial information from her Fireteam by orders of ONI's Chief Scientist. She had in essence betrayed her team by following orders, and now, ONI's Chief Scientist was about to throw her under the bus for following orders.

"And those who knew about the attack, were sworn to secrecy, to never speak about the attack until the battle for Harvest was over, one way or another. And for their sake, they _won't_ be named. But, now that Harvest is safe, I can tell you everything about the attack." Halsey looked to Anders again. "Bring them in."

Anders nodded and called for whatever it was to be brought in. A minute later, three gurneys were wheeled in with sheets over what looked to be bodies. The three personnel that wheeled them in whipped off the sheets to reveal the headless Ape creature she and Violet fought on Arcadia, one of the bird like creatures the rest of her Fireteam fought, and a hunched creature with a humanoid reptilian body structure with quadruple hinged mandibles. It had two large feet with two large digits on each foot, it also had two fingers and two thumbs on each hand and was similar in height to the Ape creature, maybe a little smaller.

"These, are just three species in an alien army that are calling themselves 'The Covenant'." Anders said, speaking up for the first time. She moved up behind the hunched creature. "We call this one an 'Elite' as they seem to have a high rank or position in this 'Covenant', they are also commonly found leading squads of a much smaller species we're calling 'Grunts'." She moved behind the bird creature next. "We're calling this one a 'Jackal' as it has a similar head shape to that of one of the Ancient Egyptian Gods. They're commonly equipped with a shield gauntlet and some type of plasma pistol. I hear your Fireteam: Indigo, encountered multiple whilst on a mission to Arcadia with Fireteam Unity, correct?" Anders asked Clementine.

"That's correct, however they didn't carry any weapons or shields." Clementine replied.

Anders looked to the side, as if thinking on something, before returning to the task at hand. She walked behind the Ape last. "This one was also recovered off Arcadia?"

Clementine nodded. "I'd have brought it back whole, but..." Clementine trailed off, and Anders just simply nodded to her.

"We call this one a 'Brute', mainly because of the sheer size and strength of it."

"Tough bastards," Jerome said. "One did a real number on me and my team. God knows what they're truly capable of."

"You want to know what they're truly capable of?!" Violet yelled, and, in the heat of the moment she stood up, removed her long sleeve t-shirt to reveal her prosthetic and stormed her way down the stairs. There was a wave of gasps and murmurs as this was the first time the Spartans had even seen Violet's prosthetic. "I suppose you got off lightly, because you look fine to me. But wait, there's more, and this one's a doozy, it single handedly _wiped out_ Fireteam Unity, Clementine and I had to fight that one by ourselves!" She shouted, pointing to the corpse of the Brute. "You have no idea how bad they are. _I lost my arm_ to that fucker on the gurney, Clementine almost died to it and Unity got _fucking decapitated_!" Another wave of gasps was heard throughout the Theatre, as well as multiple cusses. "So I don't think you have the _right_ to claim one did a number on you and your team, because you have no idea how violent, savage and brutal they really are!"

The room went deathly still as Violet continued to burn a hole in Jerome's head with a glare that looked like it'd make CPO Mendez uncomfortable. Clementine walked behind Violet and carefully placed a calming hand on her shoulder so not to make her jump. As her hand connected with Violet's shoulder she visibly tensed then relaxed her shoulders before turning to look at Clementine.

"Clem? I-I-"

"I know." Clementine whispered to her. She looked to Jerome whose face was one of shock and pure guilt, then the rest of Red Team. Alice seemed to have been affected by Violet's condition and outburst almost as much as Jerome and she too looked partially guilty for believing that the Brute they fought was tough, whereas it was nothing compared to the one Unity and Indigo ran into. Douglas looked uncomfortable, there'd been many instances on Harvest where he or his team had almost lost, but never as badly as Indigo, or even Unity for that matter. Clementine turned to take Violet back to her seat when Jerome stopped them.

"I'm sorry." He said to them.

Clementine looked back to him. "Sorry doesn't change what happened to her." She then looked to Halsey, stood straight and confidently said, "As of today, this... 'Covenant' has run out of time."


	27. Chapter 27: Rehabilitation Part 3

**A/N: And so, I'm back! It's been a while, I know, but I'm most certainly alive. Now, I realised the other day that I had failed to number the chapters correctly in my Word Doc, so there's some things I need to clear up. 1. The character we know and love will be introduced in Chapter 31 (the longest chapter so far) not Chapter 30. 2. Chapter 30 is when there will be a break (or possibly the end) in/of the 'Rehabilitation' sub-plot (not 100% sure yet), not Chapter 29. Now before this chapter begins, there's the possibility that, after you've read this chapter, you may be calling this chapter pure BS. So, to support my reasonings behind making this chapter I would like to point you to the Halo 5 mission 'Blue Team', more specifically, the cutscene where Chief sees and 'talks' to Cortana. That is the main inspiration behind this chapter. Now you could make a point in saying that he only saw her because they shared the same head, to that I would say 'True, but at least it somewhat validates this chapter even if [Insert Character Name Here] and [Insert Character Name Here] don't share the same head... like, at all.'. I don't mean for it to come across wrong, it's just me explaining my reasons in the calmest and most reasonable way possible. I've already droned on, so I'll finish up now. Thank you for reading, you guys are the best and I hope you're all enjoying the story. See you all later, and have a good day! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 27: Rehabilitation – Nightmares for Two and Mental Musings

 _Firebase Dynamo_

 _Planet Harmony_

 _13 months ago_

 _March 1, 2528_

 _12:30 hrs (13:30 hrs Reach Time)_

 _Just outside Firebase Dynamo_

 _Louis, Marlon and herself had almost safely returned the missing squad of Marines back to Dynamo. Her new Fireteam: Indigo, had been deployed to Firebase Dynamo on Harmony to assist with locating a missing squad of Marines. They'd arrived at 04:30 hrs (05:30 hrs Reach Time), and had been searching for them for eight hours straight with little to no rest. The other three members of her team: Clementine, Ruby and Mitch had remained at the Firebase to help with loading and unloading supplies for a nearby village. The Firebase itself wasn't exactly small, it was heavily fortified and big enough to fend off a siege if need be. The main gates could lockdown and seal shut to halt any attempt to enter through the front, that, and the walls were high enough to give riflemen and turret gunners the hight advantage too. There was a reasonably sized courtyard within the walls, with two exits to the left and right that led to different sections of the base._

 _"Guys..." One Marine called to them. "We're not Spartans. We need to rest."_

 _Violet looked back at him, then at the Firebase and pulled a face at him behind her visor. "We're like one minute away. Can't you suck it up for one extra minute?" She asked, a little agitatedly._

 _The Marine huffed but nodded his head and continued walking. Violet was leading the group, with Louis and Marlon covering the back. As they neared the front gates she made out the four Marines standing guard outside, and even spotted Mitch patrolling the wall. She watched as he looked her way, then back ahead of him, then to her again. He slammed his hands down on the wall, leaned forward and called over to her. She shook her head amusedly and tilted her head up in acknowledgement. She heard him shout to Clementine and Sergeant Richards that they'd returned with the missing squad, and, she was met by the two at the Firebase's entrance._

 _"You were gone a while," Clementine said. "But I see it all worked out fine."_

 _Violet, Louis, Marlon and the Marines entered the base: Louis and Marlon walking over to Ruby and the Marines being taken to medical for a check-up. Violet stood off to the side next to Clementine._

 _"Yeah. Eight hours of searching, but it paid off." Violet said, a smile evident in her tone of voice._

 _"Where'd you find them?"_

 _"At an abandoned Rebel camp, some forest in the middle of nowhere. They said the Rebel's had attempted to interrogate them for a few days, they didn't give them anything and eventually they upped and left. Supposedly leaving them for dead." Violet said._

 _Clementine looked to Violet for a second, an uneasy silence settling in. "But?" Clementine asked, breaking the silence._

 _Violet glanced at Clementine out of the corner of her eye and crossed her arms. "I don't buy it."_

 _Clementine hummed and folded her arms too. "What do you think then?"_

 _Violet shrugged. "Dunno. Nothing good, I know that much."_

 _She glanced at Clementine again and could see she'd got her thinking herself, questioning the real motive behind the Rebel's kidnapping of the Marines. But that was when she heard it. Clementine must've been too deep in thought to notice, that or her hearing was stronger than hers. Whatever it was however, sounded like the rumbling of an earthquake or the muffled groans of a volcano before it erupted, and it had Violet out of the gates in seconds, snapping Clementine out of her musings and calling after her. Violet practically flew out of the Firebase, surprising the Marines on guard and coming to a stop a little ways ahead of the base, and what she saw scared her. An ocean of Rebel's and an unhealthy amount M808 MBT – Scorpion Tanks, followed closely by M12 FAV – Warthogs with a mix of miniguns, Gauss cannons and missile-pods for turrets crawled their way toward the Firebase. Where they got all the equipment from was anyone's guess. She glance back at their own turrets – both automated and manual – and prayed they had enough to fend off the approaching army._

 _"Shit!" Violet cursed, turning around and sprinting back inside Dynamo, she made a beeline for Clementine and Sergeant Richards. "Clem!" She called._

 _"Vi? What the fuck was tha-"_

 _"Shut the fuck up and listen, the pair of you: There's and army of Rebels approaching on the Firebase, we need all hands to prepare for what looks to be one hell of a fight... and a long one at that." Violet rushed, cutting Clementine's question off._

 _Clementine and Richards looked at eachother, which ticked Violet off to no end._

 _"Don't just stand there! Move your shit, NOW!" Violet screamed, only for the first of many tanks shells to impact with the walls of the Firebase. Violet looked back at the gate and quickly remembered the Marines outside, the clattering of gunfire quickly drowning out all sound._

 _"This is Sergeant Richards to all combat personnel within these walls: Get your shit together, we have Rebels to repel people!" Richards barked over his radio. The shouts of Marines only just audible over the sound of gunfire._

 _"Violet!" Clementine called, as Violet bolted for the gates during the Sergeants call to action._

 _Violet glided through the crowds and the slightly disorganised rush of Marines to get to the Marine squad outside the walls. Equipping her Assault Rifle she vaulted over the concrete barriers the Marines were taking cover behind and called for them to retreat back inside. Being the only one out in the open, she was an easy and obvious target for the Rebels, so she kept moving, firing controlled bursts as she ran around them, behind Warthogs and over tanks to stay one step ahead._

 _"Come and get some you little shits!" She heard Mitch shout from the walls as he fired his M6 G/GNR – Spartan Laser on a tank, the thick red line impacted with the tank, a quick flash of light then an violent explosion rocked the ground around the Rebels. Violet took the chance to assist Mitch with taking down another Scorpion. Seeing one move in to fire on Mitch, she attached her Assault Rifle onto her back (silently thanking the designer who installed magnetic mounts on the back of all Spartan armour) and made a run for the tank. As it came to a halt and rotated the turret, Violet jumped toward it, planting one foot on the armour covering the front right track she used her momentum to push herself up into the air again, gripped onto the barrel of the canon and kicked the machine gunner in the side of the head as she swung forward – the force of the kick being enough to kill him on impact. Landing above the hatch to the cockpit, she pulled a grenade off her utility belt, unpinned it and punched a hole through the cockpit hatch with the same hand – taking care not to detonate the grenade in her hand with the punch – and dropped the grenade in the lap of the operator. Removing her hand, she leapt off the tank and landed with a roll just as the grenade went off._

 _It was then that Violet looked back to the gates to see one Marine still holding their ground. Violet huffed in frustration, re-equipped her Assault Rifle and ran over to him. As she got closer she could see he was a young adult, so this was more than likely his first real combat encounter. Violet continued to fire her Assault Rifle into the Rebels she was behind on her way to the Marine. As she neared the barrier she dove over it, and knocked the Marine down with her hand as she fell herself. She grabbed him by the front of his chest armour and pulled him closer to the barrier as more bullets whizzed overhead._

 _"I thought I told you to retreat!" She shouted over the gunfire._

 _"I was keeping you covered!" Protested the Marine._

 _The thump of a Gauss round impacted their barrier, taking a chunk out of the left and reducing their cover. A second explosion followed soon after, with another accompanying the second, as the Warthog that fired on them detonated which caused one next to it to also go up in flames._

 _"You see up there!" Violet shouted, pointing to the walls where multiple squads of Marines accompanied by Mitch, Marlon and Louis were firing on the Rebels._

 _The Marine nodded quickly, the nerves and adrenaline suddenly flooding his veins._

 _"That's my cover. Now-"_

 _But her sentence was cut short as a grenade landed next to them. Within the space of two seconds, Violet had picked up the Marine and launched him as far as she could manage in the direction of the base. The last two seconds, she attempted to make her way into the base also, only for the grenade to detonate, catching her in the blast radius and knocking her off her feet. The sound that was once clear was now muffled, and, when she tried to move, her movement was quickly followed by overwhelming pain, like a mixture of a thousand pissed off Bullet ants biting her all at once whilst being stabbed by a hundred tiny knives. She could've sworn she heard someone call her name, but what was even stranger was: when she looked to her right arm, she could've sworn a prosthetic was in it's place. Shaking her head and forcing herself to stand, Violet ran straight for the Firebase's courtyard, collapsing as soon as she made it safely inside. Then, an all to familiar throaty laugh echoed above her, and, the Brute that removed her arm walked into her vision, looming threateningly over her, the hammer it used to sever her arm hanging loosely in its left hand._

 _"Humanity. Such a weak and pathetic species you are. Your kind put up a surprising fight on Harvest, I'm surprised you managed to reclaim it at all. Oh, how's the arm?" It asked, with a chuckle, taunting her. Violet could do nothing but lay there in stunned silence. "I must admit, you got off lucky, unlike Unity. But, I can assure you this, human: though I may be dead, humanity's time in this galaxy is at an end. You are a parasite, a scourge that must be eradicated before our Great Journey can begin. We will burn your planets until they're barren and nothing but glass remains, and, we won't stop until your pathetic lives are nothing but a bad memory! I was but a taste of what was to come, and, our presence on Arcadia was no coincidence either. You have no idea of what we're truly capable of, but you'll find out soon enough!"_

 _With a frightening roar, it lifted the hammer above its head and swung it down towards her face. Her death in her nightmare being what woke her up._

* * *

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 26, 2529_

 _Present Day_

 _06:14 hrs_

 _Violet's Room_

Violet woke with a start, taking in a lungful of air she scanned the room she was in. Her room. Taking the time to normalise her breathing, she sat up in bed and rested her back against the wall.

"Violet?" Minnie asked, coming to life in the shape of a sphere, atop her podium in Violet's room.

"H-hey Minnie." Violet whispered.

"Oh, thank God. I got some unusual brain activity off you and I tried waking you, but it's not like I can physically shake you awake. Are you ok?"

Violet shifted so she was sat on the edge of her bed and sighed, covering her face with her hands. "I had a nightmare Minnie. It wasn't exactly a fun experience."

"What was it about?"

Removing her hands from her face, Violet looked to Minnie. "Harmony." She said simply.

Minnie's sphere broke apart into tiny fragments and reassembled into her avatar. "You and Clem have only ever referenced Harmony. It's almost as if you never talk about it." Minnie stated.

"That's because we don't." Confirmed Violet.

"Violet, what happened on Harmony?"

Violet looked to the floor and sighed. "It happened thirteen months ago. I'd only recently joined Indigo and we were sent to Harmony to assist with finding a missing squad of Marines that had been taken by Rebels. Seemed like a waste of resources at the time, but in the end, it was a good thing we went. Marlon, Louis and myself found the Marines in the middle of nowhere and brought them back to the Firebase. Not long after, it was attacked and put under siege. Turns out, the Rebels wanted them found as they'd planted trackers on them, how they got their hands on trackers is beyond me, but they followed their signal to the Firebase and, as I said before, put it under siege. They cut off roads and local airspace for supplies, water sources leading to Dynamo and constantly barraged the base with everything they had. It was a miracle we got out of it alive to be fair."

Minnie was silent, taking this new information in, but she felt as though something was missing. "Violet?" Minnie asked gently. Violet looked up to Minnie. "What aren't you telling me?"

Violet smiled sadly. "I got caught by a grenade. Don't get me wrong, the MJOLNIR armour is tough as Hell, but it doesn't cover our whole body, meaning our bodysuit is exposed in certain areas. The grenade exploded, and shrapnel ripped through the suit, embedding itself in and under my skin, all over my body. I think I was supposed to die, but... who knows." Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug.

Minnie didn't know how to respond to that, so she remained silent. Violet's room hung in an indescribable silence for a few minutes.

"And the nightmare?" Minnie asked eventually.

"Pretty much the same as the real event. The only differences being when I looked to my arm after I got caught by the grenade I saw this," She said, raising her prosthetic to Minnie – still unsure as to how she could move it so flawlessly at times. "And instead of Clementine and Ruby carrying me to medical for surgery to removed the grenade fragments, the Brute that took my arm stood over me, taunted me, then killed me." Violet felt a sting in her eye and choked back a sob. "I'm sorry Minnie, but I can't anymore, not right now. I need some space."

"I understand, I'll be here if you need me!" Minnie called to Violet as she exited the room, leaving Minnie to her thoughts. With her new information on Violet, she now had a greater understanding of what she'd been through, and had even more respect for her. She refused to give up and let past experiences bring her down, even if they still affected her in some way. Despite the situation, Minnie smiled to herself, even happier to have been paired with Violet.

* * *

 _Fireteam Indigo's Common Room_

As Violet entered the common room she heard the faint sobs of one of her friends. Unsure as to who it could be, she followed the sound to the source. As she got closer to one of the couches, she made out the familiar figure of Clementine, hunched over with her head in her hands.

"Clem?" She asked gently.

The sound of Violet's voice caused Clementine to look up, and a look a relief washed over her face. She stood up, made her way over to Violet and swept her up in a hug, her tears flowing free instead of being poorly forced back.

"Vi?" Clementine whimpered.

"Hey. What's wrong Clem?" Violet asked.

"I h-ha-... I had a n-nightmare." Clementine trembled.

"You had one too, huh?" Clementine pulled out from the hug enough to look at Violet, a confuse look on her face.

"You had one?"

Violet nodded. "C'mon, let's sit down first." Violet said, guiding Clementine back to her seat. "Ok, nightmare. What happened and what was it about? Because I've _never_ seen you like this, and it's worrying me."

Clementine took in a shaky breath and exhaled slowly. "It was... Arcadia. But worse. Far, far worse."

Violet's face went from concern and worry, to dread in a second. "What happened?" She whispered.

"I can't." Clementine whispered, shaking her head.

Violet turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then looked back at Clementine. "I know it's hard, but you have to talk about it to get past it," She gently encouraged. "What happened Clem?"

"Ok," Clementine sighed. Violet was right and she knew it, but talking about what happened was _not_ going to be easy. "You remember Unity, and how we discovered their fate?"

Violet nodded.

"Ok, well for me it wasn't Unity's heads that rolled in front of me, it was..." Clementine violently choked back a sob, trying her hardest to get herself under control again. After a few seconds she continued. "It was Ruby's, Mitch's, Louis' and Marlon's... but yours was the last one to roll in front of me."

With that, Clementine broke down once again, but this time, so did Violet. Violet knew Clementine blamed herself for what happened to her, and her nightmare proved just how lucky they were to have escaped with their lives, Violet especially. She had no idea why the Brute didn't kill her when it had the chance, but either way, she was thankful it didn't as she had no idea what Clementine would've done had she died on her watch.

Violet pulled Clementine into a comforting hug, to reassure her she was still with her.

"It's ok Clem, we're all here. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Violet told her, tightening her hold on her broken girlfriend.

"D-don't you disappear on me. Ok?" Clementine asked.

Violet pulled back enough to look Clementine in the eyes. She placed a gentle kiss on her lips and rested her forehead on Clementine's.

"I promise. Don't you disappear on me either, ok?" Violet promised, taking the chance to ask her the same.

"I promise." Clementine said, reinforcing it with a kiss.

The two smiled and remained in their embrace in a comfortable silence, letting the recently made promises comfort them both.

"So..." Clementine said after a few minutes had passed. "I hate to kill the mood, but, what was your nightmare about?" She asked Violet.

The two girls left their embrace and got themselves comfortable on the couch, almost as if they were preparing to share scary stories.

"Ok," Violet sighed. "You remember Harmony, right? I mean how could you not."

Clementine nodded sadly.

"Well, in a nutshell, it was like I was reliving Harmony all over again. Except this time, after I collapsed in the Firebase, you and Ruby never picked me up and took me to surgery. Instead, the Brute that took my arm stood over me and taunted me. Said something about a 'Great Journey', whatever the hell that means, and that their presence on Arcadia was no coincidence either."

"I'm sorry, a 'Great Journey'?" Clementine asked.

"Mmhmm." Violet hummed.

"Any idea what that's supposed to mean?"

"Well I didn't exactly ask him for a pamphlet," Violet said sarcastically. "But no. I have no fucking idea what that means."

"What about that shit about their presence on Arcadia?" Clementine asked her.

Violet shrugged. "It was just a dream and probably some paranoia that brought it on, and I don't buy what was said because of that. But, at the same time, I can't help but wonder if what was said might have some truth to it. I don't know, Clem, I really don't."

"You think Halsey will know?"

Violet shrugged again. "Maybe. That or Anders might know, assuming she's still onsite."

"What's the name of the ship Red Team left on for Harvest?"

" _Spirit of Fire_?"

Clementine snapped her fingers. "That's the one. She could be up there if she isn't onsite."

Violet sighed. "If you're right, there's no way I'm going up there just to tell her about a nightmare. I'll contact her from down here."

Clementine nodded her head lightly in agreement and the two girls remained silent for a while.

"Fuck," Violet sighed, frustratedly. "Why can't shit ever be simple? First Rebels now this 'Covenant'. What's next, fucking zombies?" Violet asked.

Clementine laughed. "Don't say that. It'll happen, knowing our luck."

Violet chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Last thing we need is an unstoppable horde of space zombies."

"Yeah, if Louis hated the facility on Arcadia, he'll flip his shit if he finds out zombies are a thing."

Violet laughed at that, the depressing atmosphere created by the two nightmares evaporating, as the two girls shared a laugh with eachother.

"I know it hasn't been long, but, how are you and your arm coping," Clementine asked. "You seem to be getting the hang of it."

"Heh, yeah, well majority of the time it just happens. Maybe you were right?" Violet said.

"About what?"

"About me thinking to hard about it. Maybe I have to just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't know how to word it. Let it be?" Violet asked.

Clementine raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face. "'Let it be'? Really?"

"Ok Smartass, maybe I just have to act like nothing's wrong, like nothing happened."

Clementine dropped her smirk and replaced it with a soft smile. "You're amazing. You'll get the hang of it."

Violet looked to Clementine and nodded. The two shifted into a comfortable embrace on the couch, talking about nothing and everything to pass the time until their friends woke up. After all, there was no way the two would get anymore sleep thanks to their nightmares, but that didn't bother them. They were more than happy to sit in the common room and wait for their friends to wake up. Violet would make sure she told both Halsey and Anders about this 'Great Journey' mentioned in her nightmare – even if the reasonable part of her brain was nagging her to ignore it, but for now, none of that mattered. For now, she had to continue adjusting to her new arm, before she could go back into the field. But most importantly, everyone now had a new enemy to face, an enemy they knew nothing about. That was their disadvantage, but they would learn more in time. Violet just hoped they had enough of it, because if they didn't, then 'The Covenant' had already won.


	28. Chapter 28: Rehabilitation Part 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter for you all, I know, that was quicker than last time. There's only really two things Iin this chapter I need to make you aware of, and that is: A. Gúta is a creature in Halo Reach, it's the big thing with huge ass claws and tusks and B. Tarnock is a name I came up with. It can honestly look like whatever you want it to look like because even** ** _I_** **don't know what one would look like. I decided to create a name for a creature on Reach because we only ever see three in-game: the Moa, Rats and the aforementioned Gúta, that and I couldn't visualise Mitch eating Moa, Rats or Gúta really, which is why he says what he says about it. That's about it, Chapter 29 will most likely be the last chapter in the 'Rehabilitation' section of the story, and as previosuly mentioned, Chapter 31 is when we get our next character(s) introduction(s). One being from TWD and six OC characters that** ** _may_** **have a place in the story alongside Indigo. If not all of them, then certainly one will. The TWD character however, definitely has a place in this story, and will be with us 'til the story finishes. [A quick look into my mind: I'm going to try and have maybe one chapter include Blue Team with Indigo. The thought is cool, but it's all about execution.] Anyways! Thanks for reading, and the follows and favourites (I have noticed, don't think I haven't), thanks for the support (even if it's just reading, that's more than enough). I'll stop waffling now. See you soon! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 28: Rehabilitation – New information, A New Mission and Losing Friends

 _Spirit of Fire_

 _In orbit above Reach_

 _April 26, 2529_

 _08:20 hrs_

 _Anders' lab_

"Has Violet told you?"

"Yes, I was the first one she contacted, and I'm thankful for that." Anders said to the person on her laptop screen, whilst jotting down notes on her recently acquired information into a notebook.

"And why's that?"

Anders' stopped scribbling, dropped her pen and turned to the screen. "Because, Catherine, it proves – in the strangest way – that the Covenant, Indigo encountered on Arcadia weren't there by chance. They were looking for som-"

The doors to her lab opened and Captain James Cutter walked in, her attention immediately moving from her laptop to her Captain.

"You know, Professor, as much as I miss my observation deck, it looks much better as a lab," He said with a small smile. "Now, I assume this isn't a social call?" He asked.

Anders' lab was a mess to others, but one hundred percent organised for her. Lined paper, notes, diagram, pens, pencils and anything else she needed was everywhere, from on the multitude of desks, half of the table-like console, to the reinforced glass floor. The floor itself could've been mistaken for a poorly disguised trap, as an unruly amount of thick black wires that powered her computers and terminal screens, all but covered the floor.

Anders smiled and waved him over. "It's good that you're here Captain-" She paused and looked over his shoulder to the door. "Where's Forge?"

"On his way," Cutter said, taking a seat after successfully and safely, navigating the floor.. "So what's this about?"

Anders took in a breath before continuing. "You remember that ruin we found on Harvest?"

"The same one the Covenant tried to blow up to stop us from gaining access to it?" He asked, ensuring they were thinking about the same ruin.

"Ruin?" Halsey asked.

Anders turned to her laptop and moved her finger and thumb across her mouth quickly, signalling Halsey to be quiet. Anders turned back to her Captain and nodded. "Well, we found a map, and – with the help of Serina – we discovered that it pointed _directly_ to the Procyon Star System, more precisely, Arcadia. I have no idea why, and I've been trying to figure it out ever since we left Harvest."

The doors to her lab opened once more, and, Sergeant John Forge walked in. "What'd I miss?" He asked, his casual demeanour pouring into the room.

"Not much." Serina, the ship's AI said, coming to life on the table-like console in the room.

Anders looked from Forge, to the woman standing atop the console and sighed. "Serina, if you're going to be here too, make yourself useful and bring up the map we recovered form Harvest."

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning, Professor?" The AI asked teasingly.

Anders glared at her.

"Very well," She sighed. "Bringing up the map now."

A large map showing a cluster of star systems rose up off the console Serina was stood on. Anders found Arcadia and pointed to it, the image zooming in on the planet. "When I activated this map in the ancient ruin on Harvest, Arcadia was the first and only planet it went to. This leads me to believe that whatever the Covenant was looking for on Harvest, can be found on Arcadia. That's even _if_ they were looking for something on Harvest. But, Violet told me that she had a nightmare, and, this is going to sound ridiculous, the Brute that Indigo encountered on Arcadia came to her in that nightmare. Told her that their presence on Arcadia wasn't a coincidence, and it also said something about a 'Great Journey'. Whatever that means, is anyone's guess, either way, I don't like it."

"Assuming this is true, which, I'm not gonna lie, sounds like a whole heap of steaming BS, what do think they're looking for?" Forge asked.

"Dreams are still a mystery Sergeant, no one knows how they work. Either way, your guess is as good as mine. So, if whatever they're looking for _is_ on Arcadia, then Arcadia..." She trailed off not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Will most likely be under attack, exactly like Harvest." Cutter finished for her.

They were all silent for a moment before Forge spoke up. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"We take a chance, no matter how ridiculous it may sound we need go to Arcadia, see if what Violet said is true, and, if it is, find whatever it is the Covenant is looking for first." Anders declared.

"Absolutely not Professor," Protested Cutter. "Our orders were to investigate and protect Harvest. Besides, we're going off of a dream, even _if_ we already have information pointing to Arcadia."

"Exactly Captain, 'our orders _we're_ ' they're not anymore." Anders sighed. "Look, I understand, that we don't fully understand why Harvest was attacked, but everything Violet has told me, and that I see here, tells me we need to go to Arcadia to figure this out."

Cutter looked towards Forge who raised his hands. "Don't look at me, this is your decision. But... I can't believe I'm about to say this, I'm inclined to agree with the lady on this one. I say: let's just go off of the information we trust the most."

Anders sent an appreciative smile and nod in his direction.

Cutter nodded at Forge and looked back to Anders. "Very well, Professor." He then moved over to Anders' laptop. "Doctor, I hate to ask this, as it could all end up being a wild goose chase, but, could we borrow Red Team again?" Cutter asked.

"Request granted James, and I'll do one better." Halsey sighed. "They're _really_ not going to like this, but, I'll send up two Pelicans and let Jacob know he has a new mission." She said, the screen going black a second later.

"Two Pelicans and the _Autumn_? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Forge said, walking backwards away from the laptop and almost knocking over some of Anders' equipment. "Whoa, sorry."

"Sergeant, please be careful. You break it, I'll make you repair it." Anders warned.

Forge stopped walking and turned to face forward. "Right, because if I try to fix something, I'll break it even more." He flashed her a quick smile before heading for the door. "See you later, Professor."

Anders shook her head in slight amusement and turned back to Cutter. "Is there anything else, Captain?" She asked.

"I believe it was you that called me, but no. Nothing more, Professor. I'll let you know when we're ready to leave."

With that, Cutter left her lab for the Bridge.

"Well, this has been... both strange and academic." Serina said, once again standing on the console.

Anders looked at her and turned away, placing her hands in her lab coat pockets. "Serina. Get out of my lab."

* * *

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 26, 2529_

 _08:30 hrs_

 _Spartan Cafeteria_

"What do you mean you got a roast dinner yesterday!" Louis exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as Indigo and himself took a seat at one of the larger tables.

"That's what I said. I did say that, right? This injury to my _arm_ hasn't affected my _speech_ has it?" Violet asked, smirking at Louis' look of betrayal.

Mitch and Marlon looked at eachother, then back at Violet and Clementine.

"You're missing the point," Mitch said. "You had one of the greatest meals to ever exist."

"Mmhmm. It was bloody delicious. You're point?" Asked Violet.

Mitch stared dumbly at Violet, whilst Louis let out a small whimper and poked lamely at the croissant he'd chosen for his meal. Clementine had had her arms crossed this whole time with a smile on her face, enjoying every second of it.

"Since when did they do roast dinners?" Marlon wondered aloud.

"I think the fact they don't tell us stuff like this is going to make me sick." Muttered Ruby.

Louis tore off a chunk of his croissant and pinched it with his finger and thumb. "I'm going to file a complaint." He declared, before eating the chunk he previously held.

Violet looked at Clementine and nudged her shoulder to get her attention. "Clem, what was it you had for dinner yesterday? I forgot." Violet asked loudly, a smile on her face.

"Oh, you mean the-"

"I can see where this is going." Louis said, cutting off Clementine.

"What? No, I had Gúta, Violet's just trying to wind you up." Clementine said, amazed at how she managed to keep a straight face.

"Really?" Mitch asked. "What's it like, I keep forgetting to give it a try. I'm so used to getting Tarnock that the thought of trying new shit slips my mind."

"Yeah, does it taste as terrifying as it looks?" Asked Louis with a smirk.

Marlon and Ruby also showed their interest by leaning forward on the table more.

Clementine looked to them and began to lean towards them with a smile on her face. Violet had to feign a cough to stomp down her growing smile.

"Oh, this should be good." Louis said to Mitch, who nodded quickly in agreement.

"I wouldn't know, I had a roast like Violet." Clementine said casually, leaning back into her original position and folding her arms.

"You two, are officially the worst," Louis said, leaning back and pointing to the laughing couple. "So much so, that I'm going to complain to HR about the-" Louis stopped abruptly, unable to contain his laughter any longer. "No, no, ok. Y-you two got us pretty good." He said in-between laughs.

"Fireteam Indigo." A voice said, interrupting Mitch before he could say anything. The team looked in the direction of the voice to see Doctor Halsey standing at the end of the table.

"Doctor?" Clementine asked. "Do you need something?"

"Hmm, in a sense, it's not me who needs you." Halsey said, cryptically.

"Well that wasn't cryptic at all." Said Louis.

"Spartans, you have a mission. You're going back to Arcadia."

"Fuck. This." Sighed Mitch.

"This is so fucked." Marlon whispered.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Asked Ruby, not at all happy at the thought of any of them going back.

Louis didn't say anything and Violet flinched at the name of the planet, not having fully recovered from the previous mission there. The rest of Indigo exchanged looks, before Clementine spoke out.

"No, no way. No fucking way. That's not happening Doctor, Violet hasn't even fully recovered." Clementine protested.

"She isn't going," Halsey said, looking to Clementine and Violet. "And neither are you."

Violet looked to Halsey then Clementine, an aching feeling beginning to surface where her right arm should be.

"Excuse me?" Clementine asked.

"Neither you, or Violet will be going on this mission. As you said, Violet is still recovering from her previous mission, and she's still adjusting to her prosthetic. Therefore, she'll need someone to help and look after her, and who else better than her girlfriend?" Halsey said with a smile.

"What about us?!" Mitch exclaimed. "You expect us to just _go back_ to Arcadia, just like," He snapped his fingers. "that?"

"This is so. _Not_. _Right_." Marlon said, placing his head in his hands.

"Why? Why are we going back?" Ruby asked quietly.

"We have... reason to believe that the Covenant you fought on Arcadia weren't there just by pure coincidence, but were indeed looking for something. However, we don't know what." Halsey told them.

Knowing she was the cause of all this Violet spoke up to clarify. "I had a nightmare, and the Brute that took my arm came to me, told me that their presence was no coincidence. It also said something about a 'Great Journey', but I don't know what that means. Now, I-I understand if you're all skeptical-"

"You got that right." Muttered Mitch, only to be elbowed by Louis.

"But what if there was a reason they were there?" Violet finished.

"Which brings me to my previous point: Violet told both myself and Professor Anders about her nightmare, and Anders said she'd found information on Harvest that could... validate, what Violet said. Now, you all know I don't like wasting resources on rumours, and wasting them on dreams is... ridiculous, but, when we already have information that points somewhere, I'm more... willing, to dedicate resources to investigate." Halsey said, elaborating on the situation a little more.

"So... what's happening then?" Clementine asked.

"All of you, except Clementine, Violet and Minnie, who will remain here, will be joining Red Team in assisting the _Spirit of Fire_ on this mission. The _Pillar of Autumn_ will also be accompanying you. Captain James Cutter and Professor Ellen Anders will give you more information. I've already arranged with Jerome for you four to temporarily join Red Team; a Pelican is waiting outside to take you up to the _Spirit of Fire_." Halsey looked to the clock in the cafeteria then back to the group. "You may want to hurry Spartans, the Pelican is scheduled to depart at 08:55 hrs, it's 08:45 now." With everything said, Halsey departed from the table, leaving Indigo in silence.

Mitch scoffed. "This is fucking stupid, I mean, what the fuck. This is all your fault!" He shouted, violently pointing a finger at Violet.

Violet's eyes widened and she turned her gaze to the table.

"Mitch!" Ruby shouted.

"What?! It fuckin' is! We're getting sent back to Arcadia over a _fucking nightmare_ whilst these two get out of it!" He shouted back, pointing another finger that was directed at Clementine.

"Hey, what the fuck did I do!?" Clementine asked, standing up out of her seat.

"Don't bring Clem into this Mitch," Marlon said, leaning forward to look at him past Ruby. "This isn't her fault."

"No, no, you're right. It's-"

"Mine." Violet whispered, still looking at the table and cutting Mitch off. The table went quiet, and everyone looked to Violet. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have said anything."

"You see!" Mitch said, moving his arm to direct it towards Violet. "She admits it's her fault. I'm beginning to think maybe her arm wasn't the only thing she lost on Arcadia!"

Everyone's gaze went to Mitch, including Violet's which was one of pure fury – her prosthetic slowly twitching into a fist.

"Ex-fucking-scuse me!?" Roared Clementine, the other three too shocked to say anything. "Please tell me you did _not_ just go there!"

Mitch was about to respond when something hard connected with the side of his face, sending him toppling over the back of the bench. All eyes turned to Violet, out of her seat, gritted teeth and a still clenched fist.

"I suggest you get the fuck out, because the next thing you say against me will be a _whole_ lot worse than that." Violet warned.

"Whatever," Mitch said, standing up and clutching his jaw. "I'll see you on the Pelican."

Violet dropped back down onto the table's bench and put her head in her hands, her whole body shaking.

"Uh... Vi?" Louis asked carefully.

"You guys should go, you don't want to miss your flight." Clementine said quietly.

"Yeah, ok," Ruby whispered. "C'mon guys." She said, ushering Louis and Marlon out.

Marlon escaped Ruby's shepherding and went back to Clementine and Violet. He carefully placed a hand on Violet's shoulder. "We'll be back soon, don't overwork yourself."

Violet nodded numbly.

"Take care of her Boss." Marlon said, patting Clementine's shoulder before moving to catch up to Ruby and Louis.

"You need to go with them." Violet said, after a silent minute passed.

"What?" Clementine asked, thinking she'd heard wrong.

Violet lifted her head out of her hands and looked to her girlfriend. "I said: you need to go with them."

"But Halsey said-"

Violet changed position on the bench to face Clementine fully. "I couldn't give a rats ass what Halsey said, they need you. I doubt they're going to listen to Jerome, but I know they'll listen to you. Right now, they need you more than I do."

"But what about your rehabilitation?" Clementine asked, also moving to face Violet fully. "What if-"

Violet leaned forward and cut her off with a kiss. "I have Minnie, you don't need to worry about me." She said with a smile.

"But I do," Clementine said, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "All the damn time."

"I know you do, but I need you to go with them. If something happens to them..." Violet trailed off, shaking her head. "No... please. Go with them. For me?"

Clementine sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, nodding. "Ok. Ok. I'll go."

Violet smiled brightly and hugged her, Clementine hugged her back, holding her as close as she could.

"Now go," Violet said, slowly leaving the embrace. "Go keep them safe... and as much as I may hate him right now, that means keeping Mitch safe too."

"I always look after friends, even if they do say some hurtful shit."

"Come home safe!" Violet called to Clementine as she jogged her way out the cafeteria to armour up. A very quiet _'I promise'_ from outside the cafeteria flew its way to Violet. Violet smiled at the promise, and, at Minnie as she appeared in front of Violet. "So," Violet said, addressing Minnie. "Ready to help me get back to my old self?"

Minnie looked to Violet and smiled brilliantly. "I thought you'd never ask."


	29. Chapter 29: Rehabilitation Part 5

**A/N: And so, the Rehabilitation sub-plot comes to a close. For those of you who read it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed. I know there were parts of it which seemed like they dragged on, but I felt it was necessary to include the mundane moments of life to make it feel that little bit more real. The next chapter will return back to the main story, with Fireteam Indigo and Red Team going to Arcadia. Can't think of anything else, so, before I start waffling like last time, I shall close this bit off. Ahem. Thank you all for the support, just reading the story means a lot. You're all awesome! Hope you enjoy this chapter and have been enjoying so far. Have a great day/afternoon/evening/night, and I'll see you all laters! - LegendsOfOnyx**

Chapter 29: Rehabilitation – A Gift From The Departed, Facing The Past and Closing a Chapter

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _Planet Reach_

 _April 26, 2529_

 _08:55 hrs_

 _Outside Fireteam Indigo's Common Room_

It had only been a few minutes since Violet asked Clementine to go with the rest of her team to Arcadia, to ensure their safety and show them that their leader was there for them whilst Violet continued her rehabilitation.

"I know you've only had it a few days, but how's your, ah..." Minnie began, only to trail off when she was unable to find the words to use.

Violet rubbed her prosthetic over the khaki green long sleeve t-shirt – she'd started wearing long sleeve t-shirts ever since her showing it off in the Lecture Theatre. She was unbelievably uncomfortable and self-conscious about showing it off in public. That, and she'd also started wearing black thermal liner gloves too, to hide her prosthetic fully – and ever so slowly, rotated the wrist. "Uh... I'm not sure Minnie. Progress is slow and will be for a long time, it's just so, frustrating, not being able to do what I used to do."

Violet opened the door to her Fireteams' common room with a sigh, wishing Clementine was with her, but glad that she'd gotten her to go to Arcadia, as much as they all didn't want to go back. Upon entering she noticed Clementine's baseball cap laying on the table between the three couches, with a note next to it. Intrigued, she headed towards the table, picked up the note and sat down in the corner of one of the couches, reading the rushed handwriting that belongs to her girlfriend.

 _Vi, if you're reading this, then... who am I kidding, of course you're reading this, the common room is probably the first place you went to after I left, anyway, you convinced(?) me to go with the others to Arcadia. And – against my better judgement – I went, leaving you alone for God knows how long to rehabilitate by yourself. You know how much I'd rather be there with you, but, I suppose you're right, the others need me more than you. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. So, considering I haven't had much time to wear my hat – and the fact you're going to be stuck on Reach for a while – I'm gifting it to you until... shit, I can't lie to you. The way everyone's started to act... it's like they don't think we'll be making it back. And a part of me is starting to believe them. We don't know what to expect, we don't know what we're looking for, Hell, we're practically going in dark. So, if I... if I don't make it back, if none of us make it back, I want you to know that I love you, that I always will. If I don't make it back... if the worst happens to us, don't let it destroy you. Please. I'll try and keep at least some optimism for you, so... I'll see you soon, yeah? Should the worst happen, come Hell or high water, I'll be thinking of you. Always you. Never forget that. - Clementine. x_

Violet felt tears slide down her cheeks as she finished the note. She wiped her eyes before carefully picking up the hat and placing it on her head. She had no idea if she was pulling it off as well as Clementine could, but at this moment in time she didn't care. She only cared about seeing them all again. She sat there for a few seconds more before getting up and heading to her room, note still in hand. Opening the door, she walked in and towards her bedside table, where she carefully placed Clementine's note. She then opened the top draw and removed a pair of earbuds and a smart phone – given to them for off-duty use only. Plugging the earbuds in and putting them in her ears, she made her way to the gym whilst scrolling through her playlist. She hovered over a specific song, one that she felt described Clementine the most.

 _'I know you'll never go down without a fight. So, this is for you, Clem. I'll be thinking about you.'_ She thought to herself as she played _Last To Fall_ by _Starset_.

* * *

 _Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex_

 _09:05 hrs_

 _Gymnasium_

As Violet set foot in the gym, she paused, taking in the room. Nothing had changed since she last set foot in here – not that anything needed changing. The gym was pretty crowded, but not enough to make her want to walk out and come back later. From the looks of it, personnel from the different branches of the UNSC Military were currently using it to keep themselves in peak condition. Everyone from your basic UNSC Grunt, to ODSTs and Spartans were either sparring in the boxing ring, running on treadmills or partnering up on bench presses. Sucking in a breath and slowly releasing it, Violet made her way to where they kept the dumbbells.

"Sorry if this is going to be super boring Minnie." Violet apologised, as she walked to the dumbbell weight rack.

Minnie appeared to her right and moved with her as she walked. Minnie shrugged. "I don't mind. I'm here with you so I'm not alone, and neither are you. I'd be bored if I had nothing to do, but I do. I can look out for you _and_ listen to music at the same time." She said with a smile before disappearing again.

Violet smiled and shook her head in amusement. "Alright, Minnie. Right... let's do this."

In preparation for her workout, Minnie started to play _Bleeding Out_ by _Imagine Dragons_.

"Minnie, how did you-"

"I'm an AI, Vi. Hacking into things is _kinda_ my thing. Plus, it's no fun if you're the only one who gets control over the music." Minnie said, a smirk in her voice.

Violet smiled at her and looked at the weights available, ranging from multiple sets of 1Kg weights all the way up to 10Kg. Unsure as to how much her prosthetic could hold, she decided to play it safe and start with a 1Kg. Crouching down to the weight, she was about to reach out for it when Minnie spoke up.

"Don't take this the wrong way but... shouldn't you remove the gloves maybe? You know, for better grip?"

Violet paused. She didn't want to, she really didn't. But Minnie was right, the last thing she needed or wanted was to lose her grip on a weight and drop it, drawing attention to herself. She sighed. "Yeah, ok. You're right." Slowly and timidly, Violet removed the gloves – the black prosthetic hand the only giveaway that something had happened – and stuffed them into her pockets.

Slowly getting the hang of moving her prosthetic, she reached out and manoeuvred her hand to grip onto the handle of the weight. Once certain she had a solid grip, she stood slowly, surprised at how easy it was to lift it.

"Huh, ok. I was expecting some weight to it." She muttered to herself. Violet played with the idea of using a heavier weight but went against it, deciding to build up to heavier objects to be safe.

As she was about to start her bicep curls, she felt someone push her shoulder. She growled in frustration, removed her left earbud and turned around to face the person who pushed her. When she turned her face fell and she took a rather violent and nervous breath in.

"'Sup Vi?" The person said.

Violet felt her upper lip and right eye twitch in annoyance. "Vince." She said simply.

Vince took a step back and looked at her hat. He reached out to grab it but she batted his hand away.

"Hands. Off." She growled.

"That's not your hat." He said.

"What do you want Vince?" She said, getting straight to the point and in no mood to deal with his shit.

"Believe it or not, I came to check up on you."

Violet raised an eyebrow. "Why do I sincerely doubt that?" She asked, turning her back to him to continue with her set task.

Vince sighed. "Ok, look: you have a _very_ good reason to doubt me. I was an a complete ass to you for all those years, and those are years I can't get back. But when I saw you rushed in _and_ the looks your team wore, I realised that I... no _we_ drove away someone who would've been willing to risk their life for the rest of us. I'm... I'm sorry for everything we put you through."

Violet stood there in silence, mulling everything he's just said over in her head. Her brows furrowed in anger, and that anger was going to go to the same place it did a year ago, except not in the form of a headbutt. Violet unconsciously dropped the weight to the floor – the noise drawing all attention her way – and she span around, striking Vince in the face and sending him flat on his ass.

"NOW!?" She shouted. "You apologise to me now, _after_ I lose a part of myself and when I might just lose someone dear to me? Not all those times I sat alone in the cafeteria, not when I'd lock myself in my room for hours at a time and not when I needed someone to be there for me when things got hard. No, only when I almost die on a mission is when you decide to apologise to me. I hoped, all those years I _silently hoped_ that you'd one day apologise to me for all the shit you said and did, but I never imagined you'd do it after I danced with Death!"

Vince had stood up a few seconds after the punch, and all throughout Violet's speech she'd backed him against a wall. The crowd around the two was pretty big, mainly consisting of Spartans and ODSTs as the Marines knew they stood no chance in trying to break-up a fight between Spartans (at least the ODSTs had a fighting chance).

"I apologised, what more do you want from me?" Vince asked.

Violet roared and unconsciously reared her prosthetic back, ready to strike Vince directly in the face. She threw the punch faster than _any_ of the Spartans could've reacted. By the time she was halfway, someone reached out to stop her, but they were too late. Everyone stood in stunned silence as her fist connected with the wall, just centimetres away from his head, leaving a rather impressive dent in the steel wall. "I wanted one _years ago!_ Fucking years ago." Tears had begun to stream down her face, all of her emotions finally bursting out into the world. Anger, annoyance, frustration, fear, worry and loneliness. "I was alone for a _long_ time when I was part of Fireteam Royal, when I was transferred to Indigo, I found people who welcomed me, appreciated and accepted me for _me_. Now, for the first time in a long time, I might just be alone in the world again, because I may never see my friends again."

Violet backed away from Vince and turned to leave the gym, the crowd parting like the Red Sea to let her through.

"Violet..." Called Vince.

But she didn't acknowledge him or turn to face him. She just kept walking. For her, she'd finally faced the past and put it behind her. _Finally_ , closing that chapter of her life, she had the freedom the focus on the next. First thing on her list, before she went to focus everything on rehabilitating, she needed a new set of armour for when she was fit for duty, and she knew just who to see for that. The creator of the Spartan-II Program: Doctor Catherine Halsey.


	30. Chapter 30: Discoveries and Preparations

**A/N: Hello again, I know I've been away for a while (probably an understatement) life has been lifing(?) and I've been busy with personal stuff. I'm very sorry to keep you all waiting so long for me and the next part of the story. I'm going to try keep on top of it, but I won't make promises I can't keep, either way, thank you for bearing with me and sticking around, it really means a lot. Anyways, thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far and as always, I hope you have a good day! Thank you again! - LegendsOfOnyx  
**

Chapter 30: Discoveries and Preparations

 _Spirit of Fire_

 _Procyon System_

 _In orbit of the planet Arcadia_

 _April 28, 2529_

 _08:52 hrs Reach Time_

 _Spirit of Fire Bridge_

Captain James Cutter stood looking out of the main window in silence. What he saw, he couldn't put into words. Simply: Arcadia had seen better days. They'd arrived at a point where night and day fought for control over the planet, where a clear line separated the two halves, an almost misshapen Yin and Yang.

On the day aspect of the planet, visible plumes of smoke were visible, almost as if they were desperately climbing their way out of the atmosphere and into the vast reaches of space. There was an uneven glow to some areas of the planet as fires raged, either ravaging forests, tarnishing cities or both. Whereas the dark side of the planet look so much worse for wear. Had they dropped out there, he could've easily mistaken it for a different planet entirely. Lakes of fire ran across her surface and the occasional circular shape of a large explosion going off only added to the unimaginable horrors that were going on below.

Cutter shut his eyes and turned his head from the sight. Looking at the planet was hard enough, but it was even more so because of the battle raging above it. Multiple UNSC vessels such as _Epoch_ -class heavy carriers, _Orion_ -class carriers, _Halcyon_ -class light cruisers and _Marathon_ -class heavy cruisers waged an all out defence against the attacking vessels. Ship wrecks from both factions floated aimlessly around the battlefield. He'd seen some of the attacking Covenant vessels during the Battle of Harvest, most notably, the _CPV_ -class heavy destroyer. The other Covenant vessels were the _CCS_ -class battle cruiser, and, to his horror, two _CAS_ -class assault carriers that he could see.

The Captain turned and walked away from the window to the large console in the centre of the Bridge, it's holographic display currently idling and awaiting instructions. He placed his hands on the edge and leaned forward. "Serina?" He asked.

"I'm here, Captain." She said, appearing to his left and standing on the table.

"Give-" He stopped to heave a heavy sigh. There was an eerie silence on the Bridge that could be affecting the whole ship for all he knew, the only sound came from the warzone outside. No one knew what to expect, but this? He shook his head. "Give me a situation report please."

Serina looked to her left and out the window Cutter had been at moments before and she sighed too. "We're putting up a fight, but I don't know how long we'll last. Keyes has moved in to lend any assistance he can, but that's not the worst of it. They're far more advanced than us, and even with what we know about their ships, it's not enough. Another two Covenant ships have just dropped out near Arcadia, and the _Texas_ , _Belfast_ , _Armstrong_ and _Autumn_ have moved to intercept. As for what's happening down there..." She shook her head. "I don't know, Captain. Surveillance wise, the planet is almost dead."

Cutter looked out the window again and watched as the mentioned ships flew past to stop the new arrivals. "They'll only halt one, the other's going down to th-"

"Hold on, Captain. I'm getting a signal, audio only." She said, cutting him off.

The Captain's head shot to her immediately. "Play it." He ordered.

With a nod of her head, the audio began.

"...Being overru... Alien forces... -side city limits... -proaching... spaceport. We're... -cuating civilians... need help!" The signal was distorted and broken apart due to static, but everyone on the Bridge heard enough to know it was _bad_. Arcadia was still evacuating, and at the current state of the battle raging in space, God only knew how bad it was on the ground.

"Sir! I'm getting visuals. It's not a lot, but..." Serina trailed off. Unable to find suitable words for what she was seeing herself. She sighed once more. "Patching visuals through now, Sir."

Cutter pushed himself away from the console and walked to a small screen that was built into a much smaller console behind him. Resting both hands on the console, he lowered himself to get a better view. Different static images flickered across the screen, each showing the devastation below in their own unique way, until the final video came through, the one that was intact the most and much longer than the others. It looked as if it'd come from a Marine's helmet cam, but what it showed made his eyes widen. In the shot, he could see the jagged edges of a ruined building. An explosion went off in the far left of the image, the kick of dust that rose into the air as clear telltale sign of this. But, just seconds after the explosion went off, a Spartan ran into frame, Assault Rifle in hand and opening fire on unseen targets, followed shortly by five more.

"Serina, ready Herons for Firebase deployment. Bring the ship to alert, and get our forces ready!" He ordered, walking away from the console he was just at and heading back to the main Bridge window. Things had been looking bad from the start, but now that they had knowledge of a Spartan team already deployed on Arcadia, he was going to do everything in his power to help them evacuate whoever they could.

* * *

 _09:12 hrs Reach Time_

 _D20 Heron Launch Bay A-3_

Members from both Fireteam Indigo and Red Team were running around the Launch Bay, helping out in any way they could to speed up deployment preparations.

Louis took a large crate of supplies off a Marine and moved it into one half of the Firebase that'd be deployed alongside them all. As he finished securing it down and ensuring it was secure enough so it wouldn't topple, he jogged out and stood back to fully take in the Launch Bay. It was huge, but then again, it had to be, considering it had to store two halves of a Firebase inside as well as two Crawler-transporters per Bay. Launch Bay A-3 was the centre Bay on the left side of the ship, with the D20 Heron docked on the underside of the slanted hull (as with all the rest (there were five Herons docked on each side of the ship)).

Louis walked out the front half of the Firebase, onto the Crawler-transporters platform and looked to the Crawler behind his. There was a large gap between the two which was necessary for when the first needed to be moved for the second. Looking up, he saw the hanging arms of the ceiling crane used to assist in moving Crawler One for Crawler Two. He was confused as to how A) so many huge vehicles could fit in a ship that looked small (but in reality was almost two times bigger than the _Pillar of Autumn_ ), and B) how could that measly looking crane pick up something as big as a Crawler, let alone a bleeding Firebase. He shook his head, opting not to think about it as it was _not_ worth the effort to think about something he couldn't give two shits on.

 _"No. No. No. Look at where I'm pointi-no – oh fuck this, give me the bloody box!"_ Louis sighed and walked to the edge of the Crawler and looked down to the commotion below, getting there just in time to see a fully armoured Clementine (minus helmet that she'd left on a box nearby) drag a toolbox away from a Marine that was helping her and towards herself, whilst wheeling herself back under the M12 Warthog they were fixing and bringing the box with her in one swift motion. Louis shook his head, she hadn't exactly been the same (or most patient) since Violet told her to go with them and leave her on Reach alone.

 _'Well, not alone. She has Minnie.'_ He thought to himself. They could all feel the hole in their Fireteam, one that could only be filled by Violet. But they knew it was a worse feeling for Clementine. Their missing piece was _her_ missing, and missing a part of yourself – be it physically or mentally – hurt in a way words can't describe.

He heard the slam and clatter of tools as the usually composed Clementine roared out in frustration, before the violent sound of rustling tools could be heard, only to silence shortly after.

He flinched when someone slapped his back lightly. He turned his head to the right to watch Marlon come to a stop next to him, also looking down at the Warthog Clementine was tending to. "Never seen her like this." Marlon said.

Louis removed his helmet and rested it under his left arm. "What can we do?"

"To help her?" Marlon asked.

Louis 'hmmed' in affirmation.

Marlon shook his head. "Nothing, Lou. It sucks to say this, but she's gotta help herself."

There was another slam of tools, and Clementine wheeled herself out a second later, wiping sweat off her brow, reaching for a water bottle by her feet and taking a swig. She didn't close her eyes as she did so, so as she looked up, she saw both Louis and Marlon staring at her. She frowned, screwed the lid back on then wheeled herself back under once again, only to come out seconds later when she discovered the Warthogs underbelly was one hundred percent again. Pulling the toolbox out from under the vehicle, she closed the lid and picked it up alongside her water bottle, carried it over to the box with her helmet on and put it on top of said box. She took one final drink before discarding the empty bottle in a nearby bin. Picking up her helmet and putting it on, she walked out of their field of view. Both boys looked to eachother then back to the Warthog and said nothing.

"Well... we better get to it. This Firebase won't ready itself, and I don't want a crate of 'nades to go off due to carelessness." Marlon said, patting Louis's back once more before jogging off to help with tasks that required some heavy lifting.

"Yeah. Yeah..." Louis whispered. He wished there was something he could do to help her, but Marlon was right. No one could help her but herself. With a sigh, Louis put his helmet on again and got to work preparing for deployment.


End file.
